cAMP-Signalling Regulates Gametocyte-Infected Erythrocyte Deformability Required for Malaria Parasite Transmission.

Blocking Plasmodium falciparum transmission to mosquitoes has been designated a strategic objective in the global agenda of malaria elimination. Transmission is ensured by gametocyte-infected erythrocytes (GIE) that sequester in the bone marrow and at maturation are released into peripheral blood from where they are taken up during a mosquito blood meal. Release into the blood circulation is accompanied by an increase in GIE deformability that allows them to pass through the spleen. Here, we used a microsphere matrix to mimic splenic filtration and investigated the role of cAMP-signalling in regulating GIE deformability. We demonstrated that mature GIE deformability is dependent on reduced cAMP-signalling and on increased phosphodiesterase expression in stage V gametocytes, and that parasite cAMP-dependent kinase activity contributes to the stiffness of immature gametocytes. Importantly, pharmacological agents that raise cAMP levels in transmissible stage V gametocytes render them less deformable and hence less likely to circulate through the spleen. Therefore, phosphodiesterase inhibitors that raise cAMP levels in P. falciparum infected erythrocytes, such as sildenafil, represent new candidate drugs to block transmission of malaria parasites

Dairy waste water treatment by combining ozonation and nanofiltration

The aim of this investigation was to examine the applicability of the membrane technique and the effect of preozonation in dairy waste water treatment technology. The best degree of surfactant removal from model anionic surfactant solution by nanofiltration was achieved at 20 degrees C and 40 bar. Investigations on the effects of ozone treatment of the waste water indicated that preozonation decreased the flux and increased the chemical oxygen demand and surfactant removal efficiency. Ozone treatment enhanced the biodegradability of the retentate from 68.8% to 96.4%

Impact of the physico-chemistry of the wine on membrane filtration performance

During the process of wine making, operation of cross-flow microfiltration allows a one-step clarification and sterilization of wine, with lower waste compared to the conventional processes of clarification and sterilization. Indeed, these processes are sources of voluminous waste (earth, Kieselguhr, additives), when discharges are becoming more and more restricted by environmental and health rules. Nevertheless, cross-flow microfiltration of wine presents a major drawback: membrane fouling causes a significant decrease in the flow rates, due to excessive retention of some wine components which could lead ultimately to the alteration of the quality of wine. The aim of this work was to study the impact of some specific wine components (phenolic compounds and yeast extract), as well as some physico-chemical parameters (pH) in regard to membrane fouling. Studies were performed using one red wine and synthetic wines, using cellulose acetate membranes (0.2 μm) operated in the dead-end mode under 2 bar pressure. The simultaneous presence of the both species of phenolic compounds (anthocyanins and tannins) in the synthetic wine was shown to be the main cause of fouling, whereas the presence of one specie leads only to standard blocking type behavior. An important decrease in the flow rates was also observed when yeast extract was added to the liquid. This yeast extract was shown to contain 300 mg/g of proteins and to be free of mannoproteins. The influence of these proteins on fouling was demonstrated while pre-treating the synthetic wine with bentonite, which was able to adsorb proteins, and in this case, no fouling was observed. It was also shown that, when decreasing the pH, the flow rate was enhanced. For all experiments, a fouling index or cake specific resistance, according to the type of fouling, was calculated in order to be used as a reference to estimate the filterability of a given wine, according to its composition in some targeted molecules. Finally, the experiments of the actual red wine exhibited complete rapid fouling of the membrane, probably due to the presence of high concentration of phenolic compounds

Effect of ultrasonic, thermal and ozone pre-treatments on waste activated sludge solubilisation and anaerobic biodegradability

In order to enhance the efficiency of anaerobic digestion, the effects of ultrasounds, ozonation and thermal pre-treatment have been studied on waste activated sludge. The feature of this study was to carry out the comparison of the three pre-treatments in the same conditions and on the same sludge sample. Each treatment was tested in two conditions close to optimum conditions to maximise batch anaerobic sludge biodegradability. All treatments led to chemical oxygen demand and matter solubilisation and had little influence on mineral matter. In terms of solubilisation thermal pre-treatment was better than sonication or ozonation. But, in terms of batch anaerobic biodegradability, best results were obtained with ultrasounds with an energy of 6250 or 9350 kJ/kg TS and a thermal treatment at 170 or 190°C. Moreover, treatments had effects on physicochemical characteristics of sludge samples: apparent viscosity decreased after all treatments but the reduction was more important with thermal treatment. Median diameter of sludge flocs were reduced after sonication, increased after thermal treatment and did not change after ozonation. Finally, capillary suction time (CST) increased after ozonation, increased highly after sonication and was reduced after thermal treatmen

An assessment of the use of antimisting fuel in turbofan engines

An evaluation was made on the effects of using antimisting kerosene (AMK) on the performance of the components from the fuel system and the combustor of current in service JT8D aircraft engines. The objectives were to identify if there were any problems associated with using antimisting kerosene and to determine the extent of shearing or degradation required to allow the engine components to achieve satisfactory operation. The program consisted of a literature survey and a test program which evaluated the antimisting kerosene fuel in laboratory and bench component testing, and assessed the performance of the combustor in a high pressure facility and in an altitude relight/cold ignition facility

Precoat filtration with body-feed and variable pressure. Part I: Mathematical modelling

The precoat filtration with body-feed is an unit operation of agricultural and food engineering. Mostly it is implemented by using centrifugal pump, which pump curve has a partial horizontal trend. Classically, in filtration theory, this prerogative of the centrifugal pumps leads to the simplifying assumption that filtration occurs with constant pressure. Because of this, it is easy to integrate the Darcy\u2019s differential equation [1, 2 and 3] for the precoat filtration with body-feed, obtaining the well known Carman equation [4]. This is the equation which relates the filtration time with the filtrate volume, the operating pressure, the filter area, and the solid-liquid suspension characteristics. The Carman equation is the start point for the subsequent optimization of the filtration cycles, e.g. by establishing the relationship between the filtration time and the filter cleaning time [5]. A better optimization of the precoat filtration with body-feed could be obtain, with some economic benefits, if an integration of the Darcy ODE was developed starting from actual trend of the pressure produced by the centrifugal pump, that is if a variable pressure was considered, as expected from the pump curve. In this sense a proposal was done by Tiller and Crump [6] many years ago in accordance with a graphic method of integration of the Darcy ODE. However the graphic procedure is tedious since it is iterative and not computerizable. For this reason the aim of this work was to find an analytical solution to the Darcy ODE for the filtration with variable pressure in order to obtain a quick and easy-to-use equation for the subsequent optimization calculations of filtration cycles, even if more complex of the Carman equation

Identification of key water quality characteristics affecting the filterability of biologically treated effluent in low-pressure membrane filtration

There are many water quality characteristics which could influence the filterability of biologically treated effluent from Melbourne's Western Treatment Plant (WTP). Statistical correlation was used to identify the key water characteristics affecting the microfiltration (MF) and ultrafiltration (UF) filterability in terms of permeate volume of the treated effluent. The models developed showed that turbidity, dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and total suspended solids (TSS) were the key factors which influenced the MF and UF filterability. Turbidity was the dominant factor affecting the accuracy of the model for MF filterability while DOC was the major factor affecting the accuracy of the model for UF filterability. A prediction accuracy of 85% was obtained for MF and 86% for UF filterability of the WTP effluent. The characteristics of the organic components of the wastewater were demonstrated by EEM spectra to have seasonal variation which would have reduced the prediction accuracy. As turbidity, DOC and TSS can be determined on-line, the models would be useful for rapid prediction of the filterability of WTP effluent and this may assist the control of low-pressure membrane filtration processes

Freshwater biology and water supply in Britain

This paper is designed to give a general account of freshwater biology as it bears on waterworks practice. Most water that is used for consumption will commonly go through a storage reservoir. Here special reference is given to the biological relations in standing waters, the biological control of water supplies, methods of plankton estimation, the biology of slow sand filtration and the use of algicides