Surveying activated sludge changes during acclimation with artificial wastewater

Many processes in the chemical and pharmaceutical industries generate wastewater containing organic toxic compounds and other kinds of xenobiotics. Usually, biological treatments are used to degrade a great quantity of these substances. However, most of the time, the microorganisms are not adapted and the treatment can be blocked. Therefore, the first step to make a continuous reactor operative is the acclimation, i.e., the adaptation of the microorganisms to a specific substrate. During this particular step of the process there is a selection and a multiplication of specialized microorganisms and physiological transformations can occur in their metabolic system. Furthermore, combining image processing techniques have already been successfully used to elucidate the activated sludge morphological changes for both aggregated and filamentous bacteria contents, during such processes. The experimental set-up is composed of an aerated reactor and a clarifier. The sludge is recycled from the clarifier by a peristaltic pump. The complete mixing inside the reactor is guaranteed by the diffusion of air from its bottom. The reactor was inoculated with biomass collected from a wastewater treatment plant and fed with an artificial wastewater based on meat extract. During acclimation, chemical parameters were measured in the influent, reactor and effluent, in order to verify the stability of the process. To complete the evaluation of the process, microscopy acquisition and image processing and analysis techniques were performed for aggregates and filamentous bacteria characterization for bright field, Gram and poly-β-hydroxybutyrate (PHB) staining images. The information extracted from those images allowed for aggregates and filamentous bacteria contents inspection, identification of PHB storing microorganisms and, gram-positive and gram-negative filamentous bacteria recognition. Figure 1 presents activated sludge samples at the beginning and at the end of the acclimation phase. It was found in this study that biomass changes during the acclimation phase could be effectively monitored, combining image analysis information and chemical parameters

Characterization of nanomedicines’ surface coverage using molecular probes and capillary electrophoresis

International audienceA faithful characterization of nanomedicine (NM) is needed for a better understanding of their in vivo outcomes. Size and surface charge are studied with well-established methods. However, other relevant parameters for the understanding of NM behavior in vivo remain largely inaccessible. For instance, the reactive surface of nanomedicines, which are often grafted with macromolecules to decrease their recognition by the immune system, is excluded from a systematic characterization. Yet, it is known that a subtle modification of NMs' surface characteristics (grafting density, molecular architecture and conformation of macromolecules) is at the root of major changes in the presence of biological components. In this work, a method that investigates the steric hindrance properties of the NMs’ surface coverage based on its capacity to exclude or allow adsorption of well-defined proteins was developed based on capillary electrophoresis. A series of proteins with different molecular weights (MW) were used as molecular probes to screen their adsorption behavior on nanoparticles bearing different molecular architectures at their surface. This novel strategy evaluating to some degree a functionality of NMs can bring additional information about their shell property and might allow for a better perception of their behavior in the presence of biological components. The developed method could discriminate nanoparticles with a high surface coverage excluding high MW proteins from nanoparticles with a low surface coverage that allowed high MW proteins to adsorb on their surface. The method has the potential for further standardization and automation for a routine use. It can be applied in quality control of NMs and to investigate interactions between proteins and NM in different situations

Comparison of systemic, compartmental and CFD modelling approaches: Application to the simulation of a biological reactor of wastewater treatment

Nowadays there exist two main approaches to simulate the hydrodynamics of chemical reactors: the systemic method, based on the description of a given reactor as a limited number of elementary reactors, and the more theoretical CFD approach, based on the resolution of the Navier-Stokes equations in a large number of computing cells. This work describes another recent modelling approach based on the description of the reactor as a network of both structural and functional compartments. The complete methodology to build such a model, using CFD simulations, tracer experiments, mass transfer and chemical processes, is described. The simulation results with such a model are then compared to those obtained with the systemic and CFD models in the case of a biological gas-liquid reactor for wastewater treatment, involving oxygen transfer and complex biological kinetics. This work shows that the compartmental model gives results very similar to those of a full CFD simulation but with lower calculation time (10 times in most cases) with the advantage of remaining almost as simple to manipulate as the systemic approach

La girolline, nouvelle substance antitumorale extraite de l'éponge, Pseudaxinyssa cantharella n. sp. (Axinellidae)

Une nouvelle substance antitumorale a été isolée d'une Eponge néo-calédonienne, #Pseudaxinyssa cantharella$. Sa structure a été établie à l'aide de ses caractéristiques spectrales et par préparation de dérivés sélectivement substitués. (Résumé d'auteur

Association of plasma Aβ40/Aβ42 ratio and brain Aβ accumulation: testing a whole-brain PLS-VIP in individuals at risk of Alzheimer's disease

Molecular and brain regional/network-wise pathophysiological changes at preclinical stages of Alzheimer's disease (AD) have primarily been found through knowledge-based studies conducted in late-stage mild cognitive impairment/dementia populations. However, such an approach may compromise the objective of identifying the earliest spatial-temporal pathophysiological processes. We investigated 261 individuals with subjective memory complaints, a condition at increased risk of AD, to test a whole-brain, non-a-priori method based on partial least squares, in unraveling the association between plasma Aβ42/Aβ40 ratio and an extensive set of brain regions characterized through molecular imaging of Aβ accumulation and cortical metabolism. Significant associations were mapped onto large-scale networks, identified through an atlas and by knowledge, to elaborate on the reliability of the results. Plasma Aβ42/40 ratio was associated with Aβ-PET uptake (but not FDG-PET) in regions generally investigated in preclinical AD such as those belonging to the default mode network, but also in regions/networks normally not accounted - including the central executive and salience networks - which likely have a selective vulnerability to incipient Aβ accumulation. The present whole-brain approach is promising to investigate early pathophysiological changes of AD to fully capture the complexity of the disease, which is essential to develop timely screening, detection, diagnostic, and therapeutic interventions

Elimination of micropollutants in activated sludge reactors with a special focus on the effect of biomass concentration

This study aimed to investigate the effects of sludge retention time (SRT), hydraulic retention time (HRT), and biomass concentration (CTSS) in activated sludge systems on removal of various micropollutants (MPs), covering a wide spectrum of biodegradability. The influence of biomass concentration on the classical pseudo-first-order rate constant was verified. Results showed that the removal rate constants were affected by both the HRT and SRT. The enhancement of the SRT increased the removal of all the MPs except for two macrolide antibiotics. Application of a higher HRT also improved MP removal, as was expected from the measured removal rate constants. More interesting, our results indicated that, logically, the increase of biomass concentration (expressed as total suspended solids CTSS) from 3 to 5 gTSS L−1 significantly enhanced the removal rate of the highly and moderately degradable compounds. Conversely, a further increase to 8 gTSS L−1 produced only an unexpected moderate effect, showing that the rate was not proportional to biomass concentration, contrary to what is generally postulated. Therefore, the use of classical kinetic models is questionable, since they do not cover the entire range of boundary conditions in activated sludge systems. This work opens new research paths and suggests potential improvements to processe

Age and sex impact plasma NFL and t-Tau trajectories in individuals with subjective memory complaints: a 3-year follow-up study

BACKGROUND: Plasma neurofilament light (NFL) and total Tau (t-Tau) proteins are candidate biomarkers for early stages of Alzheimer's disease (AD). The impact of biological factors on their plasma concentrations in individuals with subjective memory complaints (SMC) has been poorly explored. We longitudinally investigate the effect of sex, age, APOE ε4 allele, comorbidities, brain amyloid-β (Aβ) burden, and cognitive scores on plasma NFL and t-Tau concentrations in cognitively healthy individuals with SMC, a condition associated with AD development. METHODS: Three hundred sixteen and 79 individuals, respectively, have baseline and three-time point assessments (at baseline, 1-year, and 3-year follow-up) of the two biomarkers. Plasma biomarkers were measured with an ultrasensitive assay in a mono-center cohort (INSIGHT-preAD study). RESULTS: We show an effect of age on plasma NFL, with women having a higher increase of plasma t-Tau concentrations compared to men, over time. The APOE ε4 allele does not affect the biomarker concentrations while plasma vitamin B12 deficiency is associated with higher plasma t-Tau concentrations. Both biomarkers are correlated and increase over time. Baseline NFL is related to the rate of Aβ deposition at 2-year follow-up in the left-posterior cingulate and the inferior parietal gyri. Baseline plasma NFL and the rate of change of plasma t-Tau are inversely associated with cognitive score. CONCLUSION: We find that plasma NFL and t-Tau longitudinal trajectories are affected by age and female sex, respectively, in SMC individuals. Exploring the influence of biological variables on AD biomarkers is crucial for their clinical validation in blood