Analysis of Microbial Community during Biofilm Development in an Anaerobic Wastewater Treatment Reactor.

The formation, structure, and biodiversity of a multispecies anaerobic biofilm inside an Upflow Anaerobic Sludge Bed (UASB) reactor fed with brewery wastewater was examined using complementary microbial ecology methods such us fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE), and cloning. The biofilm development can be roughly divided into three stages: an initial attachment phase (0–36 h) characterized by random adhesion of the cells to the surface; a consolidation phase (from 36 h to 2 weeks) defined by the appearance of microcolonies; and maturation phase (from 2 weeks to 2 months). During the consolidation period, proteobacteria with broad metabolic capabilities, mainly represented by members of alpha-Proteobacteria class (Oleomonas, Azospirillum), predominated. Beta-, gamma-, delta- (both syntrophobacteria and sulfate-reducing bacteria) and epsilon- (Arcobacter sp.) Proteobacteria were also noticeable. Archaea first appeared during the consolidation period. A Methanospirillum-like methanogen was detected after 36 h, and this was followed by the detection of Methanosarcina, after 4 days of biofilm development. The mature biofilm displayed a hill and valley topography with cells embedded in a matrix of exopolymers where the spatial distribution of the microorganisms became well-established. Compared to the earlier phases, the biodiversity had greatly increased. Although alpha-Proteobacteria remained as predominant, members of the phyla Firmicutes, Bacteroidete, and Thermotogae were also detected. Within the domain Archaea, the acetoclastic methanogen Methanosaeta concilii become dominant. This study provides insights on the trophic web and the shifts in population during biofilm development in an UASB reactor.post-print1274 K

Permutation tests for nonparametric detection

In this paper, the authors provide a methodology to design nonparametric permutation tests and, in particular, nonparametric rank tests for applications in detection. In the first part of the paper, the authors develop the optimization theory of both permutation and rank tests in the Neyman?Pearson sense; in the second part of the paper, they carry out a comparative performance analysis of the permutation and rank tests (detectors) against the parametric ones in radar applications. First, a brief review of some contributions on nonparametric tests is realized. Then, the optimum permutation and rank tests are derived. Finally, a performance analysis is realized by Monte-Carlo simulations for the corresponding detectors, and the results are shown in curves of detection probability versus signal-to-noise rati

Importance Sampling for Objetive Funtion Estimations in Neural Detector Traing Driven by Genetic Algorithms

To train Neural Networks (NNs) in a supervised way, estimations of an objective function must be carried out. The value of this function decreases as the training progresses and so, the number of test observations necessary for an accurate estimation has to be increased. Consequently, the training computational cost is unaffordable for very low objective function value estimations, and the use of Importance Sampling (IS) techniques becomes convenient. The study of three different objective functions is considered, which implies the proposal of estimators of the objective function using IS techniques: the Mean-Square error, the Cross Entropy error and the Misclassification error criteria. The values of these functions are estimated by IS techniques, and the results are used to train NNs by the application of Genetic Algorithms. Results for a binary detection in Gaussian noise are provided. These results show the evolution of the parameters during the training and the performances of the proposed detectors in terms of error probability and Receiver Operating Characteristics curves. At the end of the study, the obtained results justify the convenience of using IS in the training

Volume and bond length dependences of the electronic structure of 6-fold and 8-fold coordinated Co2+ in pressure transformed CoF2

This work reports an optical absorption study on CoF2 under high-pressure conditions in the 0-80 GPa range. A recent structural study1 performed on the pressure-induced phase-transition sequence of CoF2 reveals that this compound undergoes a structural transformation associated with a change of Co2+ coordination from 6 (rutile type) to 8 (fluorite type) at 15 GPa, what implies a profound change in the Co2+ electronic ground state associated with the inversion of d orbitals from (t 2g 5 e g2) to (e g 4 t 2g 3). This allows us to explore the Co2+ electronic structure, and hence 10Dq, as a function of the density and the Co-F bond length in both CoF6 (rutile phase) and CoF8 (fluorite phase) coordinations. The results are compared with those obtained in KCoF3 (perovskite) in a wide range of Co-F distances (from 2.04 to 1.83 Å).Financial support from the Spanish Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (Project No. MAT2015-69508-P) and MALTA INGENIO-CONSOLIDER 2010 (Ref. No. CDS2007-0045) is acknowledged. The ALS is supported by the Director, Office of Science, Office of Basic Energy Sciences of the US Department of Energy, under Contract No. DE-AC02-05CH11231

Informe nº 13a

En el Centro Oceanográfico de Vigo del IEO han sido analizadas muestras de especies de peces pelágicos, recogidas durante la campaña Prestige-Pelágicos 0303 en la costa del Cantábrico. Las especies estudiadas han sido: caballa (Scomber scombrus), sardina (Sardina pilchardus) y jurel (Trachurus trachurus)

Informe nº 21

Este informe presenta información sobre las concentraciones de hidrocarburos aromáticos totales presentes en la columna de agua en 108 muestras correspondientes a 36 estaciones localizadas en el Cantábrico, entre las desembocaduras de los ríos Eo y Bidasoa, recogidas en la Campaña oceanográfica "PRESTIGE - CONTAMINACIÓN 0303", realizada a bordo del B/O Cornide de Saavedra del 15 al 22 de marzo de 2003

Informe nº 22

Este informe presenta los resultados de los análisis de hidrocarburos poliaromáticos totales presentes en el sedimento en muestras correspondientes a 38 estaciones localizadas en la plataforma continental gallega comprendida entre la desembocadura del Miño y Cabo Ortegal, recogidas en la Campaña "PRESTIGE - CONTAMINACIÓN 0203", realizada a bordo del B/O Cornide de Saavedra del 9 al 14 de febrero de 2003. Las estaciones de esta campaña incluyeron todas las estudiadas en diciembre de 2002 en la Campaña "PRESTIGE - CONTAMINACIÓN 1202”. Con respecto al muestreo anterior (ver Informe 02) se aumentó su densidad con el fin de obtener una mayor representatividad y cobertura espacial. La profundidad de las estaciones varió entre los 27 y los 520 metros

Informe nº 12

En este informe se presenta información sobre las concentraciones de hidrocarburos aromáticos totales presentes en la columna de agua en 111 muestras correspondientes a 37 estaciones de la plataforma continental de Galicia comprendida entre la desembocadura del Miño y cabo Ortegal, recogidas en la Campaña oceanográfica “PRESTIGE - CONTAMINACIÓN 0203”, realizada a bordo del B/O Cornide de Saavedra del 9 al 14 de febrero de 2003

Precision of ultrasound-guided versus anatomical palpation-guided needle placement of the ulnar nerve at the cubital tunnel: a cadaveric study

Percutaneous electrical stimulation has been performed for years with only the assistance of anatomical landmarks. The development of real-time ultrasonography guidance has improved the precision and safety of these percutaneous interventions. Despite ultrasound-guided and palpation-guided procedures being performed routinely for targeting nerve tissues in the upper extremity, the precision and safety of these techniques are unknown. The aim of this cadaveric study was to determine and compare the precision and safety of ultrasound-guided versus palpation-guided needling procedure with and without the handpiece of the ulnar nerve on a cadaveric model. Five physical therapists performed a series of 20 needle insertion tasks each (n = 100), 10 palpation-guided (n = 50) and 10 ultrasound-guided (n = 50) on cryopreserved specimens. The purpose of the procedure was to place the needle in proximity to the ulnar nerve at the cubital tunnel. The distance to target, time performance, accurate rate, number of passes, and unintentional puncture of surrounding structures were compared. The ultrasound-guided procedure was associated with higher accuracy (66% vs. 96%), lower distance from needle to the target (0.48 ± 1.37 vs. 2.01 ± 2.41 mm), and a lower frequency of perineurium puncture (0% vs. 20%) when compared with the palpation-guided procedure. However, the ultrasound-guided procedure required more time (38.33 ± 23.19 vs. 24.57 ± 17.84 s) than the palpation-guided procedure (all, p < 0.001). Our results support the assumption that ultrasound guidance improves the accuracy of needling procedures on the ulnar nerve at the cubital tunnel when compared with palpation guidance