Modelling anaerobic digestion of sewage sludge: mechanistic models vs machine learning

Anaerobic digestion processes are one of the technologies most used by wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) to stabilize and decrease the organic content of sludge. This process decreases the costs of disposal while increasing the energetic efficiency of WWTPs. In order to optimize this process, three model approaches were implemented. First, we calibrated and validated the anaerobic digestion model no.1 (ADM1) using data from an anaerobic lab digester treating sewage sludge (Phases I, II, III), and further receiving glycerol pulses (Phases IV, V). Then, to optimize the calibration and parameter estimation, an iterative procedure was applied by minimizing the root mean square error (RMSE). The second approach consisted of applying a machine learning (ML) model to the biogas and methane produced. The results showed that the ADM1 model adjusted well to the experimental results, especially to biogas, methane and pH. The optimization routine was useful to identify the most sensitive parameters, improving model calibration. Overall, the ML approach was more reliable to predict anaerobic reactors performance but did not respond so well to process perturbations (glycerol pulses).This work was supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) under the scope of the strategic funding of UIDB/04469/2020 and UIDB/00319/2020 units and the PAMWater Project (DSAIPA/Al/0099/2019).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Sleep deprivation affects inflammatory marker expression in adipose tissue

<p>Abstract</p> <p/> <p>Sleep deprivation has been shown to increase inflammatory markers in rat sera and peripheral blood mononuclear cells. Inflammation is a condition associated with pathologies such as obesity, cancer, and cardiovascular diseases. We investigated changes in the pro and anti-inflammatory cytokines and adipokines in different depots of white adipose tissue in rats. We also assessed lipid profiles and serum levels of corticosterone, leptin, and adiponectin after 96 hours of sleep deprivation.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The study consisted of two groups: a control (C) group and a paradoxical sleep deprivation by 96 h (PSD) group. Ten rats were randomly assigned to either the control group (C) or the PSD. Mesenteric (MEAT) and retroperitoneal (RPAT) adipose tissue, liver and serum were collected following completion of the PSD protocol. Levels of interleukin (IL)-6, interleukin (IL)-10 and tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-α were analysed in MEAT and RPAT, and leptin, adiponectin, glucose, corticosterone and lipid profile levels were analysed in serum.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>IL-6 levels were elevated in RPAT but remained unchanged in MEAT after PSD. IL-10 protein concentration was not altered in either depot, and TNF-α levels decreased in MEAT. Glucose, triglycerides (TG), VLDL and leptin decreased in serum after 96 hours of PSD; adiponectin was not altered and corticosterone was increased.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>PSD decreased fat mass and may modulate the cytokine content in different depots of adipose tissue. The inflammatory response was diminished in both depots of adipose tissue, with increased IL-6 levels in RPAT and decreased TNF-α protein concentrations in MEAT and increased levels of corticosterone in serum.</p

Correction to: EGFR/Ras-induced CCL20 production modulates the tumour microenvironment

The article ‘EGFR/Ras-induced CCL20 production modulates the tumour microenvironment’, written by Andreas Hippe, Stephan Alexander Braun, Péter Oláh, Peter Arne Gerber, Anne Schorr, Stephan Seeliger, Stephanie Holtz, Katharina Jannasch, Andor Pivarcsi, Bettina Buhren, Holger Schrumpf, Andreas Kislat, Erich Bünemann, Martin Steinhoff, Jens Fischer, Sérgio A. Lira, Petra Boukamp, Peter Hevezi, Nikolas Hendrik Stoecklein, Thomas Hoffmann, Frauke Alves, Jonathan Sleeman, Thomas Bauer, Jörg Klufa, Nicole Amberg, Maria Sibilia, Albert Zlotnik, Anja Müller- Homey and Bernhard Homey, was originally published electronically on the publisher’s internet portal on 30 June 2020 without open access. With the author(s)’ decision to opt for Open Choice the copyright of the article changed on 16 September 2021 to © The Author(s) 2021 and the article is forthwith distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/ licenses/by/4.0/. Open Access funding enabled and organized by Projekt DEAL

Genome of the Avirulent Human-Infective Trypanosome—Trypanosoma rangeli

Background: Trypanosoma rangeli is a hemoflagellate protozoan parasite infecting humans and other wild and domestic mammals across Central and South America. It does not cause human disease, but it can be mistaken for the etiologic agent of Chagas disease, Trypanosoma cruzi. We have sequenced the T. rangeli genome to provide new tools for elucidating the distinct and intriguing biology of this species and the key pathways related to interaction with its arthropod and mammalian hosts.  Methodology/Principal Findings: The T. rangeli haploid genome is ,24 Mb in length, and is the smallest and least repetitive trypanosomatid genome sequenced thus far. This parasite genome has shorter subtelomeric sequences compared to those of T. cruzi and T. brucei; displays intraspecific karyotype variability and lacks minichromosomes. Of the predicted 7,613 protein coding sequences, functional annotations could be determined for 2,415, while 5,043 are hypothetical proteins, some with evidence of protein expression. 7,101 genes (93%) are shared with other trypanosomatids that infect humans. An ortholog of the dcl2 gene involved in the T. brucei RNAi pathway was found in T. rangeli, but the RNAi machinery is non-functional since the other genes in this pathway are pseudogenized. T. rangeli is highly susceptible to oxidative stress, a phenotype that may be explained by a smaller number of anti-oxidant defense enzymes and heatshock proteins.  Conclusions/Significance: Phylogenetic comparison of nuclear and mitochondrial genes indicates that T. rangeli and T. cruzi are equidistant from T. brucei. In addition to revealing new aspects of trypanosome co-evolution within the vertebrate and invertebrate hosts, comparative genomic analysis with pathogenic trypanosomatids provides valuable new information that can be further explored with the aim of developing better diagnostic tools and/or therapeutic targets

Runoff volume and soil loss from forest roads under normal rainfall conditions

Foram determinados o volume total de água escoada e a perda de solo através da produção de sedimentos provenientes de segmentos de estradas florestais em condições de chuva natural, com diferentes valores de precipitações. As inclinações dos segmentos de 1 e 7% foram analisadas, enquanto os comprimentos variaram de 20 e 40 m, com 4 m de largura. Os segmentos de estrada foram delimitados com tábuas de 0,30 m de largura, envolvidas em lona plástica, para sua impermeabilização. Os dados de volume e intensidade de precipitação diária foram obtidos com a instalação de pluviômetro e pluviógrafo no local. O período de coleta de dados foi de um ano, concentrando-se na época das chuvas. O volume de enxurrada foi mais afetado pelo comprimento do segmento, ao passo que a massa de solo sofreu maior influência da declividade. A massa de solo erosinado cresceu exponencialmente em função do incremento do volume de enxurrada. _________________________________________________________________________________________ ABSTRACT: The total runoff volume and soil loss caused by the production of sediments derived from forest road segments under normal rainfall conditions were determined. Segment slopes from 1 and 7% were analyzed, with segment lengths ranging from 20 and 40 m and width of 4 m. The road segments were marked with 0.30 m wide boards, protected with a plastic, waterproof film. Rainfall volume and intensity data were daily obtained by means of pluviometers and pluviographs. Data collection period was one year, concentrated in the rainy season. Runoff volume was most affected by segment length while soil loss was most affected by steepness. Soil sediment mass increased exponentially in function of the increased runoff volume