Real-time control strategy for nitrogen removal via nitrite in a SHARON reactor using pH and ORP sensors

This paper presents a real-time control strategy for nitrogen removal via nitrite in a continuous flow SHARON reactor using on-line available and industrially feasible sensors (pH and ORP). The developed control strategy optimizes the length of aerobic and anoxic phases as well as the external carbon source addition. This strategy, implemented in a laboratory-scale SHARON reactor fed with synthetic wastewater and real dewatering sludge supernatant, was able to cope with step variations in influent flow rate and ammonium concentration. The main advantages of this control strategy over the traditional operation mode with fixed carbon source dosification and fixed length cycle operation were: better effluent quality (ammonia concentration decreased from 12 to 2 mg NH4–N L−1 and nitrogen removal efficiency raised from 95% to 98%) as result of the shorter cycle length: 2.9 h versus 4.0 h, and savings in external carbon addition: 1332 mg COD d−1 versus 2100 mg COD d−1.Financial support from MCYT (project CTM2005-06919-C03/TECN), Generalitat Valenciana (ACOMP06/144), and Universidad Politecnica de Valencia (UPV-FPI grant 2008-11 and PAID-06-06) are gratefully acknowledged.Claros Bedoya, JA.; Serralta Sevilla, J.; Seco Torrecillas, A.; Ferrer, J.; Aguado García, D. (2012). Real-time control strategy for nitrogen removal via nitrite in a SHARON reactor using pH and ORP sensors. Process Biochemistry. 47:1510-1515. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procbio.2012.05.020S151015154

Will REDD+ work? The need for interdisciplinary research to address key challenges

In this article, we draw on the contributions to this issue to address the question ‘Will REDD+ work?’. We do so by differentiating between how, where and when REDD+ might work. The article shows how issues of scope, scale and pace of REDD+ are related, and how interdisciplinary research can help to distill the lessons learned from REDD+ efforts currently underway. Important research areas include the drivers of deforestation and forest degradation, monitoring, reporting and verification, co-benefits, governance capacity, linkages with related policies, and the environmental and social impacts of REDD+. In concluding, we highlight the role of interdisciplinary research in supporting the different actors involved in REDD+ to cope with the inherent heterogeneity and complexity of REDD+

Sma3s: A three-step modular annotator for large sequence datasets

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License.Automatic sequence annotation is an essential component of modern 'omics' studies, which aim to extract information from large collections of sequence data. Most existing tools use sequence homology to establish evolutionary relationships and assign putative functions to sequences. However, it can be difficult to define a similarity threshold that achieves sufficient coverage without sacrificing annotation quality. Defining the correct configuration is critical and can be challenging for non-specialist users. Thus, the development of robust automatic annotation techniques that generate high-quality annotations without needing expert knowledge would be very valuable for the research community. We present Sma3s, a tool for automatically annotating very large collections of biological sequences from any kind of gene library or genome. Sma3s is composed of three modules that progressively annotate query sequences using either: (i) very similar homologues, (ii) orthologous sequences or (iii) terms enriched in groups of homologous sequences. We trained the system using several random sets of known sequences, demonstrating average sensitivity and specificity values of ∼85%. In conclusion, Sma3s is a versatile tool for high-throughput annotation of a wide variety of sequence datasets that outperforms the accuracy of other well-established annotation algorithms, and it can enrich existing database annotations and uncover previously hidden features. Importantly, Sma3s has already been used in the functional annotation of two published transcriptomes.This work has been partially financed by the National Institute for Bioinformatics (www.inab.org), a platform of Genoma España and the EC project ‘Advancing Clinico-Genomic Trials on Cancer’ (contract no. 026996).Peer Reviewe

Economic analysis of the sale channels of camelid fresh meat and charqui in Peru, Bolivia and Argentina

In the Andean countries the factors that explain the scarce exploitation to the consumption of the products derived by the meat of the American south camelidis are numerous. Currently the consumption of these foods is diffused inside the populations of breeders. On the market, instead, the demand is scarce. The objective of the research is a comparative analysis of the sale channels of fresh meat and charqui. The change from a rural market not regular of the meat to that urban controlled and valorization with the quality and the typicality of the products, it could represent a deserving proposal of consideration to favor the improvement of the operators income and the quality of final product. The conclusive considerations consist in the proposals to favor the development of the chains: interventions from the private operators and the public quality policies.Key words: sale channels, camelidis, llama meat, charqu

Perception of the environment for walking according the locality in Barranquilla, Colombia.

El objetivo fue estimar la percepción del ambiente del barrio para caminar según la localidad de la ciudad. Se realizó un estudio descriptivo transversal en 2103 personas entre 15 y 69 años de edad. Se aplicó el Cuestionario Internacional de Actividad Física (IPAQ), y el Módulo Ambiente del International Physical Activity Study. Se estimó la asociación entre la percepción de los atributos del barrio y la localidad donde reside la persona. Los residentes del sur de la ciudad tienen mayor riego de percibir pocos supermercados a poca distancia de sus casas [OR 1,29(IC 95% 1,10-1,65)], aceras en mal estado [OR 1,44(IC 95% 1,10-1,90)], pocas personas físicamente activas [OR 4,13(IC 95% 2,50-6,82)], peligro para pasear durante el día[OR 3,07(IC 95% 1,96-4,80)], y pocas cosas interesantes en el vecindario [OR 3,21(IC 95% 2,05-5,02)]The objective was to estimate the perception of the neighborhood environment for walking according to the location of the city. A cross-sectional descriptive study was performed in 2103 people aged 15 to 69 years of age. We applied the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) and the Environment Module of the International Physical Activity Study. We estimated the association between perceived attributes of the neighborhood and the locality where the person lives. The residents of the South of the city have a higher risk of perceiving a few supermarkets within walking distance of their homes [OR 1,29 (95% CI 1,10-1,65)], presence of sidewalks in bad condition [OR 1,44 (95% CI 1,10-1,90)], few people physically active [OR 4,13 (95% CI 2,50-6,82)], danger to stroll during the day [OR 3,07 (95% CI 1,96-4,80)] and few interesting things in the neighborhood [OR 3,21 (95% CI 2,05-5,02)

Neocortical tissue recovery in severe congenital obstructive hydrocephalus after intraventricular administration of bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells

BACKGROUND: In obstructive congenital hydrocephalus, cerebrospinal fluid accumulation is associated with high intracranial pressure and the presence of periventricular edema, ischemia/hypoxia, damage of the white matter, and glial reactions in the neocortex. The viability and short time effects of a therapy based on bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BM-MSC) have been evaluated in such pathological conditions in the hyh mouse model. METHODS: BM-MSC obtained from mice expressing fluorescent mRFP1 protein were injected into the lateral ventricle of hydrocephalic hyh mice at the moment they present a very severe form of the disease. The effect of transplantation in the neocortex was compared with hydrocephalic hyh mice injected with the vehicle and non-hydrocephalic littermates. Neural cell populations and the possibility of transdifferentiation were analyzed. The possibility of a tissue recovering was investigated using 1H High-Resolution Magic Angle Spinning Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (1H HR-MAS NMR) spectroscopy, thus allowing the detection of metabolites/osmolytes related with hydrocephalus severity and outcome in the neocortex. An in vitro assay to simulate the periventricular astrocyte reaction conditions was performed using BM-MSC under high TNFα level condition. The secretome in the culture medium was analyzed in this assay. RESULTS: Four days after transplantation, BM-MSC were found undifferentiated and scattered into the astrocyte reaction present in the damaged neocortex white matter. Tissue rejection to the integrated BM-MSC was not detected 4 days after transplantation. Hyh mice transplanted with BM-MSC showed a reduction in the apoptosis in the periventricular neocortex walls, suggesting a neuroprotector effect of the BM-MSC in these conditions. A decrease in the levels of metabolites/osmolytes in the neocortex, such as taurine and neuroexcytotoxic glutamate, also indicated a tissue recovering. Under high TNFα level condition in vitro, BM-MSC showed an upregulation of cytokine and protein secretion that may explain homing, immunomodulation, and vascular permeability, and therefore the tissue recovering. CONCLUSIONS: BM-MSC treatment in severe congenital hydrocephalus is viable and leads to the recovery of the severe neurodegenerative conditions in the neocortex. NMR spectroscopy allows to follow-up the effects of stem cell therapy in hydrocephalus.España Instituto Carlos III , PI15/00619 (to AJJ), PI19/00778 (to AJJ and PPG), PI15/00796, and PI18/01557España Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y Deporte FPU13/02906España, Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad RYC-2014-16980España, FEDER Andalucía y Universidad de Málaga UMA18-FEDERJA-27

Gene expression pattern in swine neutrophils after lipopolysaccharide exposure: a time course comparison

Background: Experimental exposure of swine neutrophils to bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS) represents a model to study the innate immune response during bacterial infection. Neutrophils can effectively limit the infection by secreting lipid mediators, antimicrobial molecules and a combination of reactive oxygen species (ROS) without new synthesis of proteins. However, it is known that neutrophils can modify the gene expression after LPS exposure. We performed microarray gene expression analysis in order to elucidate the less known transcriptional response of neutrophils during infection. Methods: Blood samples were collected from four healthy Iberian pigs and neutrophils were isolated and incubated during 6, 9 and 18 hrs in presence or absence of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) from Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium. RNA was isolated and hybridized to Affymetrix Porcine GeneChip®. Microarray data were normalized using Robust Microarray Analysis (RMA) and then, differential expression was obtained by an analysis of variance (ANOVA). Results: ANOVA data analysis showed that the number of differentially expressed genes (DEG) after LPS treatment vary with time. The highest transcriptional response occurred at 9 hr post LPS stimulation with 1494 DEG whereas at 6 and 18 hr showed 125 and 108 DEG, respectively. Three different gene expression tendencies were observed: genes in cluster 1 showed a tendency toward up-regulation; cluster 2 genes showing a tendency for down-regulation at 9 hr; and cluster 3 genes were up-regulated at 9 hr post LPS stimulation. Ingenuity Pathway Analysis revealed a delay of neutrophil apoptosis at 9 hr. Many genes controlling biological functions were altered with time including those controlling metabolism and cell organization, ubiquitination, adhesion, movement or inflammatory response. Conclusions: LPS stimulation alters the transcriptional pattern in neutrophils and the present results show that the robust transcriptional potential of neutrophils under infection conditions, indicating that active regulation of gene expression plays a major role in the neutrophil-mediated- innate immune respons

Analisi del reddito di aziende sud americane con allevamento di alpaca e lama

L'Altiplano del Perù e della Bolivia, collocato tra 3.800 e 5.000 metri sul livello del mare, si estende per oltre 180.000 chilometri quadrati ed è una eco-regione unica dove sono presenti i più importanti allevamenti di alpaca e lama. Molti studi hanno trattato l'ecosistema e lo sfruttamento agricolo, la genetica del bestiame, i sistemi di coltivazione e di allevamento e lo sviluppo e le condizioni socio-culturali. Pochi, invece, sono gli studi economici delle aziende di allevamento dei camelidi (Westreicher et al., 2006). Obiettivo di questo studio, che fa parte di una ricerca più ampia finalizzata al miglioramento del reddito degli allevatori andini, consiste nell'esame del reddito e del costo di produzione di otto gruppi di aziende del Perù e della Bolivia con allevamento di alpaca e lama per la produzione di fibra e carne: cinque imprese private e tre comunità rurali

Effect of pH and HNO2 concentration on the activity of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria in a partial nitritation reactor

Ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) are very sensitive to environmental conditions and wastewater treatment plant operational parameters. One of the most important factors affecting their activity is pH. Its effect is associated with: NH3/NH4 þ and HNO2/NO2 chemical equilibriums and biological reaction rates. The aim of this study was to quantify and model the effect of pH and free nitrous acid (FNA) concentration on the activity of AOB present in a lab-scale partial nitritation reactor. For this purpose, two sets of batch experiments were carried out using biomass from this reactor. Fluorescent in situ hybridization analysis showed that Nitrosomona eutropha and Nitrosomona europaea species were dominant in the partial nitritation reactor (>94%). The experimental results showed that FNA inhibits the AOB activity. This inhibition was properly modelled by the noncompetitive inhibition function and the half inhibition constant value was determined as 1.32 mg HNO2-N L 1. The optimal pH for these AOB was found to be in the range 7.4 7.8. The pH inhibitory effect was stronger at high pH values than at low pH values. Therefore, an asymmetric inhibition function was proposed to represent the pH effect on these bacteria. A combination of two sigmoidal functions was able to reproduce the experimental results obtained.Claros Bedoya, JA.; Jiménez Douglas, E.; Aguado García, D.; Ferrer, J.; Seco Torrecillas, A.; Serralta Sevilla, J. (2013). Effect of pH and HNO2 concentration on the activity of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria in a partial nitritation reactor. Water Science and Technology. 67(11):2587-2594. doi:10.2166/wst.2013.132S25872594671