Anatomical pathways for auditory memory II: information from rostral superior temporal gyrus to dorsolateral temporal pole and medial temporal cortex

Auditory recognition memory in non-human primates differs from recognition memory in other sensory systems. Monkeys learn the rule for visual and tactile delayed matching-to-sample within a few sessions, and then show one-trial recognition memory lasting 10–20 min. In contrast, monkeys require hundreds of sessions to master the rule for auditory recognition, and then show retention lasting no longer than 30–40 s. Moreover, unlike the severe effects of rhinal lesions on visual memory, such lesions have no effect on the monkeys' auditory memory performance. The anatomical pathways for auditory memory may differ from those in vision. Long-term visual recognition memory requires anatomical connections from the visual association area TE with areas 35 and 36 of the perirhinal cortex (PRC). We examined whether there is a similar anatomical route for auditory processing, or that poor auditory recognition memory may reflect the lack of such a pathway. Our hypothesis is that an auditory pathway for recognition memory originates in the higher order processing areas of the rostral superior temporal gyrus (rSTG), and then connects via the dorsolateral temporal pole to access the rhinal cortex of the medial temporal lobe. To test this, we placed retrograde (3% FB and 2% DY) and anterograde (10% BDA 10,000 mW) tracer injections in rSTG and the dorsolateral area 38DL of the temporal pole. Results showed that area 38DL receives dense projections from auditory association areas Ts1, TAa, TPO of the rSTG, from the rostral parabelt and, to a lesser extent, from areas Ts2-3 and PGa. In turn, area 38DL projects densely to area 35 of PRC, entorhinal cortex (EC), and to areas TH/TF of the posterior parahippocampal cortex. Significantly, this projection avoids most of area 36r/c of PRC. This anatomical arrangement may contribute to our understanding of the poor auditory memory of rhesus monkeys

Using full-scale duckweed ponds as the finish stage for swine waste treatment with a focus on organic matter degradation

Artigo Publicado em: IWA - Water Science & TechnologyThe rapid increase in the number of swine has caused pronounced environmental impacts worldwide, especially on water resources. As an aggregate, smallholdings have an important role in South American pork production, contributing to the net diffusion of pollution. Thus, duckweed ponds have been successfully used for swine waste polishing, mainly for nutrient removal. Few studies have been carried out to assess organic matter degradation in duckweed ponds. Hence, the present study evaluated the efficiency of two full-scale duckweed ponds for organic matter reduction of swine waste on small pig farms. Duckweed ponds, in series, received the effluent after an anaerobic biodigester and storage pond, with a flow rate of 1 m3 day 1. After 1 year of monitoring, an improvement in effluent quality was observed, with a reduction in biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) and total chemical oxygen demand (tCOD), respectively, of 94.8 and 96.7%, operating at a loading rate of approximately 27 kgBOD ha 1 day 1 and 131 kgCOD ha 1 day 1. Algae inhibition due to duckweed coverage was strongly observed in the pond effluent, where chlorophyll a and turbidity remained below 25 μg L 1 and 10 NTU. Using the study conditions described herein, duckweed ponds were shown to be a suitable technology for swine waste treatment, contributing to the environmental sustainability of rural areas

Anatomical Pathways for Auditory Memory in Primates

Episodic memory or the ability to store context-rich information about everyday events depends on the hippocampal formation (entorhinal cortex, subiculum, presubiculum, parasubiculum, hippocampus proper, and dentate gyrus). A substantial amount of behavioral-lesion and anatomical studies have contributed to our understanding of the organization of how visual stimuli are retained in episodic memory. However, whether auditory memory is organized similarly is still unclear. One hypothesis is that, like the “visual ventral stream” for which the connections of the inferior temporal gyrus with the perirhinal cortex are necessary for visual recognition in monkeys, direct connections between the auditory association areas of the superior temporal gyrus and the hippocampal formation and with the parahippocampal region (temporal pole, perhirinal, and posterior parahippocampal cortices) might also underlie recognition memory for sounds. Alternatively, the anatomical organization of memory could be different in audition. This alternative “indirect stream” hypothesis posits that, unlike the visual association cortex, the majority of auditory information makes one or more synapses in intermediate, polymodal areas, where they may integrate information from other sensory modalities, before reaching the medial temporal memory system. This review considers anatomical studies that can support either one or both hypotheses – focusing on anatomical studies on the primate brain, primarily in macaque monkeys, that have reported not only direct auditory association connections with medial temporal areas, but, importantly, also possible indirect pathways for auditory information to reach the medial temporal lobe memory system

Fate of nutrients during hydrothermal treatment of food waste

Hydrothermal carbonization was evaluated as a food waste valorization strategy to obtain hydrochar and recover nutrients. In the hydrothermal treatment, the temperature (170–230 °C), reaction time (5–60 min), and addition of HCl (0.1–0.5 M) during the reaction were analyzed. Compared to the feedstock, hydrochar showed an increase in fixed carbon (greater than 45%) and a decrease in ash content (<7%), along with a higher heating value (18.6–26.2 MJ/kg), which would allow for its application as a biofuel for industry according to ISO/TS 17225–8. The hydrochar obtained using plain carbonization showed 75% P and 40% N of the feedstock content, whereas the HCl-mediated treatment (0.5 M) solubilized most of the P, K, and N in the process water (98% P as PO4-P, 98% K, and the total N content as NH4-N (16%) and organic-N) operating at 170 °C for 60 min.The authors greatly appreciate funding from Spanish MICINN (Project PID2019-108445RB-I00) and Madrid Regional Government (Project S2018/EMT-4344). A. Sarrion wishes to thank the Spanish MICINN and ESF for a research grant (BES-2017-081515). The authors thank Silvia Rodríguez for her valuable hel

Homography-based ground plane detection using a single on-board camera

This study presents a robust method for ground plane detection in vision-based systems with a non-stationary camera. The proposed method is based on the reliable estimation of the homography between ground planes in successive images. This homography is computed using a feature matching approach, which in contrast to classical approaches to on-board motion estimation does not require explicit ego-motion calculation. As opposed to it, a novel homography calculation method based on a linear estimation framework is presented. This framework provides predictions of the ground plane transformation matrix that are dynamically updated with new measurements. The method is specially suited for challenging environments, in particular traffic scenarios, in which the information is scarce and the homography computed from the images is usually inaccurate or erroneous. The proposed estimation framework is able to remove erroneous measurements and to correct those that are inaccurate, hence producing a reliable homography estimate at each instant. It is based on the evaluation of the difference between the predicted and the observed transformations, measured according to the spectral norm of the associated matrix of differences. Moreover, an example is provided on how to use the information extracted from ground plane estimation to achieve object detection and tracking. The method has been successfully demonstrated for the detection of moving vehicles in traffic environments

Energy recovery from garden and park waste by hydrothermal carbonisation and anaerobic digestion

Hydrothermal carbonisation (HTC) can transform wet lignocellulosic biomass, which is not considered an effective biofuel for energy production at the industrial level, into a carbonaceous product called hydrochar (HC) that is suitable for combustion and a process water (PW). PW is an interesting by-product that can be valorised for biogas production via anaerobic digestion (AD). This study presents a new approach for the valorisation of garden and park wastes (GPW) by integrating HTC to generate HC for energy production, while PW is subjected to AD for biogas production. The hydrothermal treatment was performed at 180, 210, and 230 °C, yielding HC with improved physicochemical properties, such as an elevated higher heating value (21–25 MJ kg−1); low ash (<5 wt.%), nitrogen (1.3 wt.%), and sulphur (0.2 wt.%) contents; better fuel ratio (0.4–0.6); and a broad comprehensive combustibility index (8.0×10−7 to 9.6×10−7 min−2 °C−3). AD of the generated PW was conducted under mesophilic conditions (35 °C), resulting in a methane production in the range of 253–326 mL g−1 CODadded and COD removal of up to 65%. The combination of HTC and AD allowed the recovery of 91% and 94% of the energy content feedstock, as calculated from the combustion of HC and methane, respectivelyThe authors gratefully acknowledge funding from Spain’s MINECO (PID2019-108445RB-I00; PDC2021-120755-I00) and the Comunidad de Madrid (Project S2018/EMT-4344). R. P. Ipiales acknowledges financial support from the Comunidad de Madrid (IND2019/AMB-17092) and the Arquimea-Agrotech Compan

Valorisation of the liquid fraction from hydrothermal carbonisation of sewage sludge by anaerobic digestion

This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Journal of Chemical Technology and Biotechnology 93.2 (2018): 450-456, which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1002/jctb.5375. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Use of Self-Archived VersionsBACKGROUND: The mesophilic anaerobic digestion of the liquid fraction from hydrothermal carbonisation (208°C, 1 h) of dehydrated sewage sludge has been studied. Two initial inoculum concentrations (IC) (10 and 25 g COD L-1) and four inoculum to substrate ratios (ISR) (2, 1, 0.5 and 0.4 on a COD basis) have been selected to analyse their influence on the evolution of the anaerobic digestion process. RESULTS: The substrate is characterised by a high COD (95.5 g L-1) and TKN (8.7 g N L-1) values. High inoculum concentration (25 g COD L-1) and/or low ISR (≤ 0.5) inhibited methanogenesis due to the high ammonia nitrogen (1.4 g TAN L-1) and VFA (&gt;4 g COD L-1) released. For the inhibited samples final COD removals lower than 15% and IA/TA ratios higher than 0.3 were found. The greatest methane yield (177±5 mL CH4 STP g-1 CODadded) was achieved at 25 g COD L-1 of IC and at an ISR of 2. CONCLUSION: During anaerobic digestion of the liquid fraction from the hydrothermal carbonisation of sewage sludge, the IC and ISR must be adequately selected for proper operation of the process and successful valorisation. According to the results, working at an ISR ≥ 1 is recommendedThe authors wish to express their gratitude to the UAM-Santander (Project CEAL-AL/2015-29) and Spanish MINECO (CTM2016-76564-R) for providing financial support. MA de la Rubia acknowledges financial support from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (RYC-2013-12549

Real-time detection of riboflavin production by Lactobacillus plantarum strains and tracking of their gastrointestinal survival and functionality in vitro and in vivo using mCherry labeling

Some strains of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) produce riboflavin, a water-soluble vitamin of the B complex, essential for human beings. Here, we have evaluated riboflavin (B2 vitamin) production by five Lactobacillus plantarum strains isolated from chicha, a traditional maize-based fermented alcoholic beverage from north-western Argentina and their isogenic riboflavin-overproducing derivatives previously selected using roseoflavin. A direct fluorescence spectroscopic detection method to quantify riboflavin production in bacterial culture supernatants has been tested. Comparison of the efficiency for riboflavin fluorescence quantification with and without prior HPLC fractionation showed that the developed method is a rapid and easy test for selection of B2 vitamin-producing strains. In addition, it can be used for quantitative detection of the vitamin production in real time during bacterial growth. On the basis of this and previous analyses, the L. plantarum M5MA1-B2 riboflavin overproducer was selected for in vitro and in vivo studies after being fluorescently labeled by transfer of the pRCR12 plasmid, which encodes the mCherry protein. The labeling did not affect negatively the growth, the riboflavin production nor the adhesion of the strain to Caco-2 cells. Thus, L. plantarum M5MA1-B2[pRCR12] was evaluated for its survival under digestive tract stresses in the presence of microbiota in the dynamic multistage BFBL gut model and in a murine model. After exposure to both models, M5MA1-B2[pRCR12] could be recovered and detected by the pink color of the colonies. The results indicated a satisfactory resistance of the strain to gastric and intestinal stress conditions but a low colonization capability observed both in vitro and in vivo. Overall, L. plantarum M5MA1-B2 could be proposed as a probiotic strain for the development of functional foods.Fil: Mohedano, Mari Luz. Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas. Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas; EspañaFil: Hernández Recio, Sara. Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas. Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas; EspañaFil: Yépez, Alba. Universidad de Valencia; EspañaFil: Requena, Teresa. Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas. Instituto de Investigación en Ciencias de la Alimentación; EspañaFil: Martínez Cuesta, M. Carmen. Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas. Instituto de Investigación en Ciencias de la Alimentación; EspañaFil: Peláez, Carmen. Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas. Instituto de Investigación en Ciencias de la Alimentación; EspañaFil: Russo, Pasquale. Università di Foggia; ItaliaFil: Leblanc, Jean Guy Joseph. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tucumán. Centro de Referencia para Lactobacilos; ArgentinaFil: Spano, Giuseppe. Università di Foggia; ItaliaFil: Aznar, Rosa. Universidad de Valencia; España. Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas. Instituto de Agroquímica y Tecnología de Alimentos; EspañaFil: López, Paloma. Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas. Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas; Españ

Fouling control in membrane bioreactors with sewage-sludge based adsorbents

The potential application of powdered activated carbon (PAC) to mitigate membrane fouling has been tested in membrane bioreactors (MBRs) fed with cosmetic wastewater. Inexpensive powder activated carbon was prepared from sewage sludge biosolids (B-PAC) by pyrolysis (750 °C; 0.5 h) and air-activation (400 °C; 2 h). Adsorption capacities of 143 and 570 mg g −1 were reached for carbohydrates and proteins, respectively, quite similar to those of a commercial activated carbon (C-PAC). To check the effect of PAC addition on membrane fouling, three MBRs were simultaneously operated without (control-MBR) and with PAC (B-MBR and C-MBR) for 150 days in continuous mode at 8 L m −2  h −1 flux. Similar COD removal efficiencies were achieved in these three MBR systems. After 100 days of operation, the effect of the PACs on the sludge filterability was studied in the MBRs for 10 days. B-MBR showed stable transmembrane pressure (TMP) after 9 days of operation, unlike of control-MBR and C-MBR, where the TMP increased after the 2nd and 5th days, respectively. Therefore, operational cost saving can be achieved in the membrane cleaning due to decrease of fouling rate. Operating at stable state condition the addition of PAC gave rise to an increase of the critical flux of 25%. In an extra shear test, carried out at the end of the continuous experiment, a clear reduction in mean size of the flocs from 45 to 28 μm was observed in control-MBR. However, the extra shear led to a slight reduction of the mean size of flocs (less than 5%) in MBRs with PAC, with average sizes of 62 and 71 μm in C-MBR and B-MBR, respectively. The molecular weight fractionation of the MBR demonstrated a higher selectivity of B-PAC toward the adsorption of proteins smaller than 1 μm which prevents the irreversible fouling of the membranes. The membranes lifetime was increased because the B-PAC extended the filtration for a longer period than C-PAC, probably due to its easier in-situ regenerationThe authors greatly appreciatefinancial support by the SpanishMinisterio de Economia y Competitividad and Comunidad deMadrid through the projects CTM2013-43803-P and P2013/MAE-2716, respectivel