Macromolecular composition and anaerobic degradation of the sludge produced in a sequencing batch reactor

The effect of sequencing batch reactor (SBR) operating conditions on sludge macromolecular composition and the effect of sludge macromolecular composition on the anaerobic degradation of the sludge produced in SBR was investigated in this work. A SBR, fed with synthetic wastewater, was operated at different air flow rates. The resulting sludge was analyzed in terms of protein, carbohydrate, phospholipid and polyhydroxybutyrate concentrations. Methane production during anaerobic digestion of the sludge was also measured. Ammonium, nitrite, nitrate, dissolved oxygen and chemical oxygen demand (COD) track studies in the SBR were carried out in order to relate SBR performance and sludge macromolecular composition. The lowest air flow rate at which the SBR was operated was 2 l min-1, in which case the dissolved oxygen concentration was lower than 0.5 mg l-1 in the SBR and partial denitrification occurred during the feeding phase. An increased air flow rate caused a decrease in protein concentration, as well as an increase in carbohydrate concentration. Polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) concentration in the sludge was independent of air flow rate. At different air flows, the methane production rates were similar, but the total volume of methane was greater during anaerobic digestion of the sludge produced at low air flow rates. These results indicate a strategy by which changes in sludge composition can optimize the operation of anaerobic sludge digesters

Linguistic summarization of time series data using genetic algorithms

In this paper, the use of an evolutionary approach when obtaining linguistic summaries from time series data is proposed. We assume the availability of a hierarchical partition of the time dimension in the time series. The use of natural language allows the human users to understand the resulting summaries in an easy way. The number of possible final summaries and the different ways of measuring their quality has taken us to adopt the use of a multi objective evolutionary algorithm. We compare the results of the new approach with our previous greedy algorithms

Biological control of Rhizoctonia solani in tomatoes with Trichoderma harzianum mutants

Biocontrol of Rhizoctonia solani in tomatoes cultivated under greenhouse and field conditions was analyzed using the Trichoderma harzianum mutants Th650-NG7, Th11A80.1, Th12A40.1, Th12C40.1 and Th12A10.1 and ThF2-1, respectively. Their innocuousness on tomato cultivars 92.95 and Gondola (greenhouse assays), and on cultivar Fortaleza (field assays) was established. Alginate pellets (1.7 g pellets/L soil) containing c.a1 x 105 colony forming units (cfu)/g pellet were applied to a soil previously inoculated with R. solani at transplant (greenhouse) or to a naturally infected soil (field). Controls considered parental wild strains, a chemical fungicide and no additions. Th11A 80.1, Th12A10.1 and Th650-NG7 prevented the 100% mortality of tomato plants cv. 92.95 caused by R. solani, and the 40% mortality in tomato plants cv. Gondola (greenhouse assays). Mortality reduction was reflected in canker level lessening and in plant parameters increases (development, fresh and dry weights). A different degree of susceptibility of tomato plants was observed, being Gondola cv. more resistant than 92.95 cv. to infection in a soil previously inoculated with R. solani. Tomato plants of cv. Fortaleza did not show mortality in naturally infected soils (field assays), where the mutant ThF2-1 reduced significantly the canker level caused by R. solani

Expression of a Haemonchus contortus cysteine protease in the baculovirus system

A Haemonchus contortus recombinant Cysteine Protease (CP) was expressed in the baculovirus system. The CP gene was isolated by PCR from H. contortus cDNA, the PCR amplicon was cloned downstream to the polihedrin promoter within a bacterial expression vector, Sf9 insect cells were used for simultaneous co-transfection with the CP-vector and baculovirus naked DNA, which originated recombinant viruses by homologous recombination capable to express recombinant CP in an insect cell culture. A recombinant protease was identified as a fusion protein with a Ni lithium affinity 6XHis group. Recombinant CP was purified by affinity chromatography to obtain active recombinant protease identified by H. contortus experimentally infested ovine sera on a western blot as a 37 kDa protein, as well as by enzyme activity on PAGE-gelatin. Cysteine protease activity was assayed against synthetic substrates including the dipeptides: Phe-Arg, cathepsin B substrate: Arg-Arg, the caspase tetrapeptide substrate: Tyr-Val-Ala-Asp. Maximum CP activity was detected at pH 6.0 for all synthetic substrates and total inhibition was achieved by E-64 but not by EDTA, pepstatin or PMSF. Recombinant H. contortus CP can be obtained in large amounts from transfected insect cell culture and may be applied to control experiments of ruminant Haemonchosis

High-spin states and band terminations in v 49

High-spin states in 49 V have been studied through the 28 Si(28 Si, α3p) reaction using the EUROBALL γ-ray detector array. The 49 V level scheme has been extended up to 13.1 MeV including 21 new states. Both negative and positive parity states have been interpreted in the framework of theShell Model. The 27/2− and the 31/2+ band termination states have been observed in agreement with theoretical predictions.Fil: Rodrigues Ferreira Maltez, Dario Pablo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica. Gerencia del Área de Investigación y Aplicaciones No Nucleares. Gerencia Física (Centro Atómico Constituyentes). Proyecto Tandar; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Física; ArgentinaFil: Hojman, Daniel Leonardo. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica. Gerencia del Área de Investigación y Aplicaciones No Nucleares. Gerencia Física (Centro Atómico Constituyentes). Proyecto Tandar; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Lenzi, Silvia M.. Istituto Nazionale Di Fisica Nucleare.; Italia. Università di Padova; ItaliaFil: Cardona, Maria Angelica. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica. Gerencia del Área de Investigación y Aplicaciones No Nucleares. Gerencia Física (Centro Atómico Constituyentes). Proyecto Tandar; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de San Martín. Escuela de Ciencia y Tecnología; ArgentinaFil: Fernea, Enrico. Università di Padova; Italia. Istituto Nazionale Di Fisica Nucleare.; ItaliaFil: Axiotis, M.. Istituto Nazionale Di Fisica Nucleare.; ItaliaFil: Beck, C.. Université de Strasbourg; Francia. Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique; FranciaFil: Bednarczyk, P.. Polish Academy of Sciences; ArgentinaFil: Bizzetti, P. G.. Università di Padova; Italia. Istituto Nazionale Di Fisica Nucleare.; ItaliaFil: Bizzetti Sona, A. M.. Università di Padova; Italia. Istituto Nazionale Di Fisica Nucleare.; ItaliaFil: Della Vedova, F.. Università di Padova; Italia. Istituto Nazionale Di Fisica Nucleare.; ItaliaFil: Grebosz, J.. Polish Academy of Sciences; ArgentinaFil: Haas, F.. Université de Strasbourg; Francia. Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique; FranciaFil: Kmiecik, M.. Polish Academy of Sciences; ArgentinaFil: Maj, A.. Polish Academy of Sciences; ArgentinaFil: Męczyński, W.. Polish Academy of Sciences; ArgentinaFil: Napoli, D. R.. Istituto Nazionale Di Fisica Nucleare.; ItaliaFil: Nespolo, M.. Università di Padova; Italia. Istituto Nazionale Di Fisica Nucleare.; ItaliaFil: Papka, P.. Université de Strasbourg; Francia. Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique; FranciaFil: Sánchez i Zafra, A.. Université de Strasbourg; Francia. Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique; FranciaFil: Styczen, J.. Polish Academy of Sciences; ArgentinaFil: Thummerer, S.. Alfred-Wegener-Institut, Helmholtz-Zentrum für Polar- und Meeresforschung; AlemaniaFil: Ziębliński, M.. Polish Academy of Sciences; Argentin

Efficacy of tigecycline for the treatment of complicated intraabdominal infections in real-life clinical practice from five european observational studies

Objectives: Tigecycline is a broad-spectrum antibiotic approved for the treatment of complicated intra-abdominal infections (cIAIs). The efficacy of tigecycline when administered as monotherapy or in combination with other antibacterials in the treatment of cIAIs in routine clinical practice is described. Patients and methods: Individual patient-level data were pooled from five European observational studies (July 2006 to October 2011). Results: A total of 785 cIAI patients who received tigecycline were included (mean age 63.1+14.0 years). Of these, 56.6% were in intensive care units, 65.6% acquired their infection in hospital, 88.1% had at least one comorbidity and 65.7% had secondary peritonitis. The mean Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE) II and Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) scores at the beginning of treatment were 16.9+7.6 (n=614) and 7.0+4.2 (n=108), respectively, indicating high disease severity. Escherichia coli (41.8%), Enterococcus faecium (40.1%) and Enterococcus faecalis (21.1%) were the most frequently isolated pathogens; 49.1% of infections were polymicrobial and 17.5% were due to resistant pathogens. Overall, 54.8% (n=430) received tigecycline as monotherapy and 45.2% (n=355) as combination therapy for a mean duration of 10.6 days. Clinical response rates at the end of treatment were 77.4% for all patients (567/733), 80.6% for patients who received tigecycline as monotherapy (329/408), 75.2% for patients with a nosocomial infection (354/471), 75.8% for patients with an APACHE II score .15 (250/330) and 54.2% (32/59) for patients with a SOFA score =7. Conclusions: In these real-life studies, tigecycline, alone and in combination, achieved favourable clinical response rates in patients with cIAI with a high severity of illness

Batch culture growth of Chlorella zofingiensis on effluent derived from two-stage anaerobic digestion of two-phase olive mill solid waste

This paper presents the use of an effluent derived from two-stage anaerobic digestion of two-phase olive mill solid waste (OMSW) as a substrate for the production of Chlorella zofingiensis in batch mode. Chlorella zofingiensis when grown autotrophycally can accumulate significant quantities of valuable carotenoids which are used as an additive in fish and poultry farming, as colorants in foods and in health care products. It was found that two-phase OMSW previously treated by two-stage anaerobic digestion and further sterilized may be used as a culture medium for the microalgae Chlorella zofingiensis. Typical growth curves were obtained using both the above-mentioned anaerobic effluent and a synthetic medium. Total chemical oxygen demand (TCOD) and soluble chemical oxygen demand (SCOD) removals of 37% and 45% respectively were achieved in batch experiments after 11 days' operation time. The specific growth rate was lower when the treated effluent was used as the feed substrate (0.02 h-1) in comparison to the synthetic medium (0.03 h-1). The specific growth rates of the exponential phases were determined by using a first-order kinetic model applied to chlorophyll a (C a ) and total chlorophyll (TC) concentrations, as indirect measurements of the microalgae concentration. It was concluded that the effluent from two-stage anaerobic digestion of two-phase OMSW constituted an appropriate culture medium for the growth of Chlorella zofingiensis, providing a simple technology feasible for producing a very useful product for animal feeding

J/ψ\rm{J}/\psi production at low transverse momentum in p+p and d+Au collisions at sNN\sqrt{s_{NN}} = 200 GeV

We report on the measurement of $\rm{J}/\psi$ production in the dielectron channel at mid-rapidity (|y|<1) in p+p and d+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 200 GeV from the STAR experiment at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider. The transverse momentum $p_{T}$ spectra in p+p for $p_{T}$ < 4 GeV/c and d+Au collisions for $p_{T}$ < 3 GeV/c are presented. These measurements extend the STAR coverage for $\rm{J}/\psi$ production in p+p collisions to low $p_{T}$. The $$ from the measured $\rm{J}/\psi$ invariant cross section in p+p and d+Au collisions are evaluated and compared to similar measurements at other collision energies. The nuclear modification factor for $\rm{J}/\psi$ is extracted as a function of $p_{T}$ and collision centrality in d+Au and compared to model calculations using the modified nuclear Parton Distribution Function and a final-state $\rm{J}/\psi$ nuclear absorption cross section

Association of MC1R Variants and host phenotypes with melanoma risk in CDKN2A mutation carriers: a GenoMEL study

&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;Background&lt;/b&gt; Carrying the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor 2A (CDKN2A) germline mutations is associated with a high risk for melanoma. Penetrance of CDKN2A mutations is modified by pigmentation characteristics, nevus phenotypes, and some variants of the melanocortin-1 receptor gene (MC1R), which is known to have a role in the pigmentation process. However, investigation of the associations of both MC1R variants and host phenotypes with melanoma risk has been limited.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;Methods&lt;/b&gt; We included 815 CDKN2A mutation carriers (473 affected, and 342 unaffected, with melanoma) from 186 families from 15 centers in Europe, North America, and Australia who participated in the Melanoma Genetics Consortium. In this family-based study, we assessed the associations of the four most frequent MC1R variants (V60L, V92M, R151C, and R160W) and the number of variants (1, &#8805;2 variants), alone or jointly with the host phenotypes (hair color, propensity to sunburn, and number of nevi), with melanoma risk in CDKN2A mutation carriers. These associations were estimated and tested using generalized estimating equations. All statistical tests were two-sided.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;Results&lt;/b&gt; Carrying any one of the four most frequent MC1R variants (V60L, V92M, R151C, R160W) in CDKN2A mutation carriers was associated with a statistically significantly increased risk for melanoma across all continents (1.24 × 10−6 &#8804; P &#8804; .0007). A consistent pattern of increase in melanoma risk was also associated with increase in number of MC1R variants. The risk of melanoma associated with at least two MC1R variants was 2.6-fold higher than the risk associated with only one variant (odds ratio = 5.83 [95% confidence interval = 3.60 to 9.46] vs 2.25 [95% confidence interval = 1.44 to 3.52]; Ptrend = 1.86 × 10−8). The joint analysis of MC1R variants and host phenotypes showed statistically significant associations of melanoma risk, together with MC1R variants (.0001 &#8804; P &#8804; .04), hair color (.006 &#8804; P &#8804; .06), and number of nevi (6.9 × 10−6 &#8804; P &#8804; .02).&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;Conclusion&lt;/b&gt; Results show that MC1R variants, hair color, and number of nevi were jointly associated with melanoma risk in CDKN2A mutation carriers. This joint association may have important consequences for risk assessments in familial settings.&lt;/p&gt

Expected Performance of the ATLAS Experiment - Detector, Trigger and Physics

A detailed study is presented of the expected performance of the ATLAS detector. The reconstruction of tracks, leptons, photons, missing energy and jets is investigated, together with the performance of b-tagging and the trigger. The physics potential for a variety of interesting physics processes, within the Standard Model and beyond, is examined. The study comprises a series of notes based on simulations of the detector and physics processes, with particular emphasis given to the data expected from the first years of operation of the LHC at CERN