Influent Wastewater Microbiota and Temperature Influence Anaerobic Membrane Bioreactor Microbial Community

Sustainable municipal wastewater recovery scenarios highlight benefits of anaerobic membrane bioreactors (AnMBRs). However, influences of continuous seeding by influent wastewater and temperature on attached-growth AnMBRs are not well understood. In this study, four bench-scale AnMBR operated at 10 and 25 °C were fed synthetic (SPE) and then real (PE) primary effluent municipal wastewater. Illumina sequencing revealed different bacterial communities in each AnMBR in response to temperature and bioreactor configuration, whereas differences were not observed in archaeal communities. Activity assays revealed hydrogenotrophic methanogenesis was the dominant methanogenic pathway at 10 °C. The significant relative abundance of Methanosaeta at 10 °C concomitant with low acetoclastic methanogenic activity may indicate possible Methanosaeta-Geobacter direct interspecies electron transfer. When AnMBR feed was changed to PE, continual seeding with wastewater microbiota caused AnMBR microbial communities to shift, becoming more similar to PE microbiota. Therefore, influent wastewater microbiota, temperature and reactor configuration influenced the AnMBR microbial community

Phenotype-dependent regulation of the system x\u3csub\u3eC\u3c/sub\u3e- cystine/glutamate exchanger by glutathione levels in rat astrocyte primary cultures

The system xC- (SxC-) transporter functions under normal physiological conditions in astrocytes to mediate the exchange of extracellular cystine (L-Cys2) for intracellular glutamate (L-Glu). The internalized L-Cys2 serves as a rate-limiting precursor in the biosynthesis of glutathione (GSH), while the externalized L-Glu can access EAA receptors and contribute to either excitatory signaling or excitotoxcity. Although the regulation of SxC- has been studied in a variety of cells, particularly as related to xenobiotic exposure, much less is known about its regulation in astrocytes. In the present study the influence of phenotype (culturing in the presence of dibutyryl-cAMP) and GSH levels on the expression of SxC- was investigated in cultures of primary astrocytes prepared from neonatal rats. We report that SxC- activity in the dbcAMP-treated cells was nearly 7-fold greater than in untreated astrocytes (100 ± 21 and 15 ± 4 pmol/min/mg protein respectively) and that this uptake was further upregulated (~3-fold) in these cells following the depletion of intracellular GSH levels with buthionine sulfoximine (BSO, 500 μM, 24 hrs). Changes in SxC- activity correlated with: increases in both protein and mRNA levels of the xCT subunit of the SxC- heterodimer, an increase in the Vmax for SxC---mediated L-Glu uptake (147 ± 5 in untreated astrocytes to 350 ± 15 pmol/min/mg protein in dbcAMP-treated), and was linked temporally to alterations in GSH levels. The GSH depletion-induced induction of SxC- was not mimicked by tBHQ or non-specific oxidants and was partially preventable by the co-administration of cell permeant thiols GSH-ethyl ester (5 mM) and N-acetylcysteine (NAC). These findings demonstrate that the expression of SxC- on astrocytes is dynamically regulated by intracellular GSH levels in a cell- and phenotype-dependent manner. The presence of this pathway likely reflects the inherent vulnerability of the CNS to oxidative damage and raises interesting questions as to the functional consequences of changes in SxC- activity in CNS injury and disease

Wilayat al-Qawkaz - The Islamic State in the North Caucasus. Frames, Strategies and Credibility of Radical Islamist Propaganda Videos

The growing influence of the terror organization “Islamic State in Iraq and Syria” (ISIS) on Russian speaking communities has come to fruition in the North Caucasus. ISIS has not only managed to attract individuals from the North Caucasus to join the jihad in Syria and Iraq, but further to establish the regional branch “Wilayat al-Qawkaz”. Now, as a major international event in Russia 2018, the FIFA World Cup poses an attractive target for ISIS that has been threatened through ISIS’s online channels. In order to reach different target groups, ISIS has produced several high-quality propaganda videos. According to Benford and Snow (2000), social movements perceive social phenomena differently and communicate their interpretation of reality by using frames. To sustain or increase the number of followers, ISIS spreads a narrative that identifies problems, proposes solutions and offers incentives to join. Benford and Snow describe this pattern as the three frame dimensions: diagnostic, prognostic and motivational frame. This research paper aims to highlight the strategies of ISIS's propaganda videos in the North Caucasus by identifying the main topics within the three frame dimensions. Based on the analysis of five propaganda videos, it points out the main frames addressing the oppression of Muslims as the problem, jihad as the solution, religious duty and rewards in this world and the next as the incentives. Considering that persuasion of propaganda is only effective with credible frames, it can be observed that this requires references to real events and more important the use of reputable speakers that can be religious or militant leaders, as well as ordinary but authentic jihadists. Taking the visual frame analysis into account, the visualization of violence and community plays a huge role to create credibility, offer identity and to claim relevance as a serious opponent

The Moral Hygiene Movement in the United States, 1840s—1920s

During the 19th and 20th centuries, the mental health care system in the United States underwent a series of reforms in an effort to better care for some of the country’s frailest citizens. This period, called the moral hygiene era of mental health care, emerged from a further understanding of psychiatry and psychology which led to structural changes in the mental health care system. This thesis examines the beginnings of the Kirkbride system, which sought to reform the whole of American mental health care through landscaping and architecture as well as the specific treatment plan for each individual. Using case studies like the Buffalo State Hospital demonstrates how Dr. Thomas Kirkbride’s ideas filtered throughout the country. Adding to Kirkbride’s ideas, reformer Dorothea Dix also promoted humane treatment for the mentally ill. Unfortunately, with the onset of the Industrial Revolution and ideas about scientific management and eugenics Dix and Kirkbride’s ideas faded. It took reformers like stunt reporter Nellie Bly to reenergize those earlier ideas. But most professionals squabbled amongst themselves instead of making real progress. World War I served as a catalyst for a reset in how practitioners approached mental health care. By the 1920s, new practitioners like Mary Cromwell Jarrett took the ideas of Kirkbride and Dix and created psychiatric social work. An assessment of these reformers shows that their plans for a modern mental health care system are still relevant in twenty-first-century society

The Lifelong Impact of the Neonatal Microbiome

Nurses have a critical role in patient health outcomes. Beyond providing essential care, nurses are responsible for educating patients so they are able to make well-informed decisions to achieve optimal health. Throughout our training, we are consistently reminded of the importance of patient education. When a diagnosis is made, nurses are responsible for teaching the patient how to respond in order to best manage their condition. While this will always be a vital component of nursing, another approach to patient education is preventing disease. Research has proven that the human microbiome is essential to health and disease prevention, yet its significance continues to be overlooked in the medical community. In order to best serve our patients, it is imperative that nurses are informed of the importance of a healthy human microbiome and the lifelong risks associated with its neglect