Membrane distillation - A technology for resource recovery in communal waste water treatment

In the past years lots of research in the area of membrane distillation (MD) has been conducted, especially in the fields of desalination. Nevertheless there are many new fields with possible applications of MD. With this paper the role of MD in communal wastewater treatment is presented. During the aerobic sewage treatment of a conventional Waste Water Treatment Plant (WWTP) resources such as nitrogen and carbon are destroyed. For this reason membrane distillation was applied for the separation of ammonia. An overall system integration concept could direct the WWTP from being a consumer into a producer – cleaning water while providing resources in form of valuable products. Along with population growth the demand for water, resources and energy will be drastically increased within the next decades. In this study the general stability of a poly tetra fluor ethylene (PTFE) membrane was tested by conducting liquid entry pressure (LEP) tests such as contact angle (CA) measurements with membranes that have been exposed to the waste water before. A spiral wound module was custom-made and a pilot plant (20`- Container, (6058 x 2438 mm)) was designed and constructed. Tests were carried out on-site of a waste water treatment plant for a few month of period. The suitability of the MD configuration for ammonia recovery was proven. Different test- and cleaning conditions were studied in order to evaluate the best-achievable separation factors. The dissociation equilibrium of ammonia-ammonium was taken into account, in terms of temperature and pH value, when conducting the ammonia separation experiments. The paper will present results from field tests at the waste water treatment plant. In the scope of this paper a concept for the integration of the membrane distillation facility into the WWTP will be presented and the potential for the integration of waste heat or solar thermal energy will be pointed out. An essential part is also the calculation of the economic feasibility of this new technology. The result will include detailed knowledge about the operation parameters such as flow rates, temperatures, energy consumption etc

Why Combining Interrelated Subjects does not Make a Global Subject - Lessons Learnt from the Latest Curriculum Reform of Austrian Commercial Schools

In order to enhance students' understanding of the interrelationships between business administration, business mathematics and accounting, the recently developed curriculum of Austrian commercial schools comprises one global subject in which the contents of these three subjects have been combined. A second subject called "business practice" has been introduced to provide sufficient time to apply the acquired business knowledge to practice-oriented tasks. The results of a formative evaluation study show that several teachers have considerable difficulties to put the main ideas of these two subjects into practice and that many students find it hard to understand the identity of these two subjects. (authors' abstract

CHIRPED-PULSE MICROWAVE SPECTRA OF 4-FLUOROPHENOL, 1-BROMO-2-FLUOROBENZENE, AND 1-BROMO-3-FLUOROBENZENE

The microwave spectra of three unique chemicals have been measured and assigned for the first time. The spectra of 4-fluorophenol, 1-bromo-2-fluorobenzene, and 1-bromo-3-fluorobenzene were measured with a chirped-pulse Fourier transform microwave (CP-FTMW) spectrometer in the 8 – 18 GHz range. The spectrometer employs an Analog Devices AD-9914 direct digital synthesizer to generate a chirped pulse with a bandwidth of 1 GHz. The chirped pulse is mixed with a tunable carrier frequency and the spectrum is measured in 2 GHz (the output of the mixer includes the lower and upper sidebands) sections. Chemical samples are introduced through a small hole in a spherical mirror in order for the pulsed molecular beam to be coaxial with the microwave pulse. Experimental rotational parameters of the three chemical species will be presented along with a description of the spectrometer

Oscillatory Flow Bioreactor (OFB) Applied in Enzymatic Hydrolysis at High Solid Loadings

Within this study, an enzymatic hydrolysis process using α-cellulosic feedstock was performed in a specially designed plug-flow reactor, referred to as an Oscillatory Flow Bioreactor (OFB). The aims of this approach were to achieve intensification in terms of realising a more energy- and resource-efficient enzymatic hydrolysis, as well as to set the basis for continuous processes in such a reactor. The OFB performance was evaluated for high solid loadings of up to 15 %, and compared to the performance of a Stirred Tank Reactor (STR). Experimental results of the OFB operating at an oscillation frequency of 2 Hz and an oscillation amplitude of 10 mm exhibit better conversion efficiencies (+ 6.7 %) than the STR after 24 h, while requiring only 7 % of the STR power density (W m–3). Therefore, the OFB enables efficient, uniform mixing at lower power densities than STRs for applications with high solid loadings. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License

Bioavailable wine pomace attenuates oxalate-induced type II epithelial mesenchymal transition and preserve the differentiated phenotype of renal MDCK cells

The functional renal epithelium is composed of differentiated and polarized tubular cells with a strong actin cortex and specialized cell-cell junctions. If, under pathological conditions, these cells have to resist higher kidney osmolarity, they need to activate diverse mechanisms to survive external nephrotoxic agents such as inflammation and oxidative stress. Wine pomace polyphenols exert protective effects on renal cells. In this study, two wine-pomace products and their protective effects upon promotion and preservation of normal cell differentiation and attenuation of oxalate-induced type II epithelial mesenchymal transition (EMT) are evaluated. Treatment with gastrointestinal and colonic bioavailable fractions from red (rWPP) and white (wWPP) wine pomaces, both in the presence and the absence of oxalate, showed similar cell numbers and nuclear size than the non-treated differentiated MDCK cells. Immunofluorescence analysis showed the reduction of morphological changes and the preservation of cellular junctions for the rWPP and wWPP pre-treatment of cells exposed to oxalate injury. Hence, both rWPP and wWPP attenuated oxalate type II EMT in MDCK cells that conserved their epithelial morphology and cellular junctions through the antioxidant activities of grape pomace polyphenols.Agencia Nacional de Promoci on Científica y Tecnol ogica (PICT 2016-1055), the University of Buenos Aires (UBACYT 2014-2017, 20020130100658BA) and the Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovaci on y Universidades (PGC2018-097113B100)

Fumarate is an epigenetic modifier that elicits epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition.

Mutations of the tricarboxylic acid cycle enzyme fumarate hydratase cause hereditary leiomyomatosis and renal cell cancer. Fumarate hydratase-deficient renal cancers are highly aggressive and metastasize even when small, leading to a very poor clinical outcome. Fumarate, a small molecule metabolite that accumulates in fumarate hydratase-deficient cells, plays a key role in cell transformation, making it a bona fide oncometabolite. Fumarate has been shown to inhibit α-ketoglutarate-dependent dioxygenases that are involved in DNA and histone demethylation. However, the link between fumarate accumulation, epigenetic changes, and tumorigenesis is unclear. Here we show that loss of fumarate hydratase and the subsequent accumulation of fumarate in mouse and human cells elicits an epithelial-to-mesenchymal-transition (EMT), a phenotypic switch associated with cancer initiation, invasion, and metastasis. We demonstrate that fumarate inhibits Tet-mediated demethylation of a regulatory region of the antimetastatic miRNA cluster mir-200ba429, leading to the expression of EMT-related transcription factors and enhanced migratory properties. These epigenetic and phenotypic changes are recapitulated by the incubation of fumarate hydratase-proficient cells with cell-permeable fumarate. Loss of fumarate hydratase is associated with suppression of miR-200 and the EMT signature in renal cancer and is associated with poor clinical outcome. These results imply that loss of fumarate hydratase and fumarate accumulation contribute to the aggressive features of fumarate hydratase-deficient tumours.This work was supported by the Medical Research Council (UK). S.F. was supported by a Herchel Smith Research Studentship and K.F. by an MRC Career Development Award. E.R.M is supported by the ERC Advanced Researcher award 323004–ONCOTREAT. P.H.M. is supported by Senior Investigator Awards from the Wellcome Trust and NIHR. The Cambridge Human Research Tissue Bank and A.W. are supported by the NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre.This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Nature Publishing at http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nature19353

Zur Berechnung von Konsolidationsproblemen bei nichtlinearem Stoffverhalten

SIGLETIB: RN 3787 (23) / FIZ - Fachinformationszzentrum Karlsruhe / TIB - Technische InformationsbibliothekDEGerman

Fußball als sozialpädagogisches Projekt : ein Fallbeispiel in Guatemala City

Ziel dieser Arbeit ist es, das Potential des Sports, im Speziellen des Fußballs, im Rahmen sozialpädagogischer Arbeit, vor dem Hintergrund eines guatemaltekischen Projektes zu beleuchten. Auch wenn die sozialpädagogische Arbeit mit Sport in der Sportwissenschaft bislang noch wenig Beachtung gefunden hat, so ist es ein Gebiet mit sehr vielfältigen Forschungsmöglichkeiten. Der gesellschaftspolitische und kulturelle Kontext des Projektes ?Sendero de Campeones? in Guatemala City eröffnet ein ganz anderes Handlungsfeld, als dies zum Beispiel im mitteleuropäischen Raum vorstellbar wäre. Ein schlechtes Bildungssystem, Armut, Gewalt und Verbrechen sind Nährboden und Wurzel vieler Probleme zugleich. Ein Kreislauf, der durchbrochen werden muss. Insbesondere in Entwicklungsländern bietet Sport oft eine greifbare Chance, soziale Probleme eigenständig zu bekämpfen. Nicht immer sind große finanzielle Mittel oder eine jahrelange sozialpädagogische Ausbildungen notwendig, um die soziale Situation eines Umfeldes zu verbessern. Mit Hingabe, Einsatz und dem Verständnis für das Wesentliche, schaffen es immer wieder Einzelne, ohne große finanzielle Unterstützung, beachtliche Hilfe zu leisten. So geschah dies auch im Rahmen des Projektes ?Sendero de Campeones?, welches durch den Einsatz der Familie Velásquez zum Mittelpunkt des gesellschaftlichen Lebens ihrer Gemeinde wurde. Fußball eignet sich nicht nur wegen seiner Beliebtheit im Lateinamerikanischen Raum hervorragend für die Arbeit in der Integration, Gewaltprävention, Gleichstellung der Frau und Entwicklungszusammenarbeit. Um sozialpädagogische Arbeit jedoch erfolgreich zu gestalten, muss jeder Schritt genau durchdacht, geplant und gesteuert werden. Wie erfolgreich das Projekt durch Sport, für mehr Gemeinschaft, Lebensqualität und Sicherheit sorgen kann, war Gegenstand einer empirischen Untersuchung.It is the aim of this thesis to illuminate the potential of sports, and soccer in particular, in the context of social work. To pinpoint this potential, the project ?Sendero de Campeones? in Guatemala City will be described and analyzed in detail. A deep understanding of the sociopolitical and cultural background of Guatemala is essential in order to get an idea of the necessity and the requirements of the project. A poor educational system, poverty, violence, and crime are both cause and effect of many of the problems present in Guatemala- a vicious circle that needs to be cut. Sports offer, especially for developing countries, a concrete opportunity to fight some of those social problems independently. Sometimes a change of social situation can be brought about without enormous financial resources or special qualifications of the social workers. With commitment, devotion, and a profound understanding of the necessities of a community, individuals can make a notable difference. That is what happened when Gonzalo Velásquez and his family started a soccer league 11 years ago, which eventually became the centre of social life of its community. Within a controlled environment, soccer can create adequate prerequisites to work in the fields of integration, prevention of violence, womens equality and development cooperation. How the project manages to improve the security and the standard of life of its community is the subject of an empirical investigation that concludes the thesis.vorgelegt von Jochen BuchmaierGraz, Univ., Dipl.-Arb., 2010(VLID)21147