pinecone/core-2020-05-10-deduplication huggingface dataset:
Fungal biofiltration of α-pinene: Effects of temperature, relative humidity, and transient loads

Over the past decade much effort has been made to develop new carrier materials, more performant biocatalysts, and new types of bioreactors for waste gas treatment. In biofilters fungal biocatalysts are more resistant to acid and dry conditions and take up hydrophobic compounds from the gas phase more easily than wet bacterial biofilms. In the present study, a biofilter packed with a mixture of perlite and Pall rings and fed α-pinene-polluted air was inoculated with a new fungal isolate identified as Ophiostoma species. α-Pinene is a volatile pollutant typically found in waste gases from wood-related industries. The temperature of waste gas streams from pulp and paper industries containing α-pinene is usually higher than ambient temperature. Studies were undertaken here on the effect on performance of temperature changes in the range of 15–40°C. The effect of temperature on biodegradation kinetics in continuous reactors was elucidated through equations derived from the Arrhenius formula. Moreover, the effects of the relative humidity (RH) of the inlet gas phase, transient loads (shock or starvation), and the nature of the nitrogen source on α-pinene removal were also studied in this research. The results suggest that the fungal biofilter appears to be an effective treatment process for the removal of α-pinene. The optimal conditions are: temperature around 30°C, RH of the inlet waste gas stream around 85%, and nitrate as nitrogen source. The fungal biofilter also showed a good potential to withstand shock loads and recovered rapidly its full performance after a 3–7 days starvation period. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2007;96: 433–443. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc
Adsorption, absorption and biological degradation of ammonia in different biofilter organic media

A tailor-made apparatus called ammoniometer, which is a batch mode respirometer applied to the study of ammonia biodegradation in biofilter media, has been used to evaluate adsorption, absorption, and biodegradation in five different organic materials (compost, coconut fibre, bark, pruning wastes, and peat) obtained from full-scale biofilters in operation in several waste treatment plants. The results showed that absorption could be represented by a Henry's law linear equation, with values of the Henry coefficient significantly higher (from 1,866 to 15,320) than that of pure water (1,498). Adsorption data were successfully fitted to Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms and maximum adsorption capacity varies from 1.06 to 1.81 mg NH(3)/g dry media. Ammonia biodegradation rates for each organic material were also calculated. Biodegradation rates varied from 0.67 to 7.82 mg NH(3)/kg media/d depending on the material tested. The data obtained showed important differences in the behaviour of the biofilter organic media, which has important implications in the design and modelling of these systems
Mesophilic and thermophilic biotreatment of BTEX-polluted air in reactors

This study compares the removal of a mixture of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and all three xylene isomers (BTEX) in mesophilic and thermophilic (50°C) bioreactors. In the mesophilic reactor fungi became dominant after long-term operation, while bacteria dominated in the thermophilic unit. Microbial acclimation was achieved by exposing the biofilters to initial BTEX loads of 2–15 g m−3 h−1, at an empty bed residence time of 96 s. After adaptation, the elimination capacities ranged from 3 to 188 g m−3 h−1, depending on the inlet load, for the mesophilic biofilter with removal efficiencies reaching 96%. On the other hand, in the thermophilic reactor the average removal efficiency was 83% with a maximum elimination capacity of 218 g m−3 h−1. There was a clear positive relationship between temperature gradients as well as CO2 production and elimination capacities across the biofilters. The gas phase was sampled at different depths along the reactors observing that the percentage pollutant removal in each section was strongly dependant on the load applied. The fate of individual alkylbenzene compounds was checked, showing the unusually high biodegradation rate of benzene at high loads under thermophilic conditions (100%) compared to its very low removal in the mesophilic reactor at such load (<10%). Such difference was less pronounced for the other pollutants. After 210 days of operation, the dry biomass content for the mesophilic and thermophilic reactors were 0.300 and 0.114 g g−1support, respectively, reaching higher removals under thermophilic conditions with a lower biomass accumulation, that is, lower pressure drop
Quantitative image analysis as a diagnostic tool for monitoring structural changes of anaerobic granular sludge during detergent shock loads

Two shock loads of a commercial detergent (I - 150 mg chemical oxygen demand (COD)/L, fed for 56 h; II - 300 mg COD/L fed for 222 h) were applied in a lab-scale Expanded Granular Sludge Blanket (EGSB) reactor, fed with 1,500 mg COD/L of ethanol. The impact of the surfactant was assessed in terms of granular sludge morphology, specific methanogenic activity (SMA) in the presence of individual substrates, and reactor performance. COD removal efficiency remained unaffected in the shock I, but 80 h after starting exposure to the shock II, the COD removal efficiency decreased drastically from 75 to 17%. In the first 8 h of operation of shock I, the SMA was stimulated and decreased afterwards, being recovered 5 days after the end of exposure time. Concerning to shock II, the SMA was immediately and persistently reduced during the exposure time, although, the inhibition of SMA in presence of H2/CO2 showed a trend to increase after the exposure time. Acetoclastic bacteria were observed as the most sensitive to the toxic effects of surfactant whereas the hydrogenotrophic bacteria were less affected. The inhibitory effects were dependent on surfactant concentration and exposure time. The ratio filaments length per total aggregates area (LfA) was an early-warning indicator of biomass washout, since it increased 3 and 5 days before effluent volatile suspended solids (VSS) rise, respectively, in shocks I and II.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT
Kinetic and stoichiometric parameters estimation in a nitrifying bubble column through ‘‘in-situ’’ pulse respirometry

This article proposes a simple "in-situ" pulse respirometric method for the estimation of four important kinetic and stoichiometric parameters. The method is validated in a suspended biomass nitrifying reactor for the determination of (i) maximum oxygen uptake rate (OURexmax), (ii) oxidation yield (fE), (iii) biomass growth yield (fS), and (iv) affinity constant (KS). OURexmax and fE were directly obtained from respirograms. In the presented case study, a minimum substrate pulse of 10 mgNH4+-NL-1 was necessary to determine OURexmax which was 61.15 ± 4.09 mgO2 L-1 h-1 (5 repetitions). A linear correlation (r2 = 0.93) obtained between OURexmax and the biomass concentration in the reactor suggests that biomass concentration can be estimated from respirometric experiments. The substrate oxidation yield, fE, was determined along 60 days of continuous operation with an average error of 5.6%. The biomass growth yield was indirectly estimated from the substrate oxidation yield fE. The average obtained value (0.10 ± 0.04 mgCOD mg-1COD) was in accordance with the fS estimation by the traditional COD mass balance method under steady-state conditions (0.09 ± 0.01). The affinity constant KS was indirectly estimated after fitting the ascending part of the respirogram to a theoretical model. An average value of 0.48 ± 0.08 mgNH4+-NL-1 was obtained, which is in the range of affinity constants reported in the literature for the nitrification process (0.16-2 mgNH4+-NL-1).Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y TecnologíaEuropean Union in the Framework of the Marie Curie ActionsFundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT
Poly(N-Isopropylacrylamide) surface-grafted ghitosan membranes as a new substrate for cell sheet engineering and manipulation

The immobilization of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide)
(PNIPAAm) on chitosanmembranes was performed in
order to render membranes with thermo-responsive surface
properties. The aim was to create membranes suitable for cell
culture and in which confluent cell sheets can be recovered by
simply lowering the temperature. The chitosan membranes
were immersed in a solution of the monomer that was
polymerized via radical initiation. The composition of the
polymerization reaction solvent, which was a mixture of a
chitosan non-solvent (isopropanol) and a solvent (water),
provided a tight control over the chitosan membranes
swelling capability. The different swelling ratio, obtained
at different solvent composition of the reaction mixture,
drives simultaneously the monomer solubility and diffusion
into the polymeric matrix, the polymerization reaction rate,
as well as the eventual chain transfer to the side substituents
of the pyranosyl groups of chitosan. A combined analysis of
the modified membranes chemistry by proton nuclear magnetic
resonance (1H-NMR), Fourier transform spectroscopy
with attenuated total reflection (FTIR-ATR) and X-ray
photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) showed that it was possible
to control the chitosan modification yield and depth in the
solvent composition range between 75% and 100% of isopropanol.
Plasma treatment was also applied to the original
chitosan membranes in order to improve cell adhesion and
proliferation. Chitosan membranes, which had been previously
subjected to oxygen plasma treatment, were then modified by
means of the previously describedmethodology. A human fetal
lung fibroblast cell line was cultured until confluence on the plasma-treated thermo-responsive chitosan membranes and
cell sheets were harvested lowering the temperature.Contract grant sponsor: European NoE EXPERTISSUESContract grant number: NMP3-CT-2004-500283Contract grant sponsor: European UnionContract grant number: NMP3-CT-2003-50575
A new photobioreactor for continuous microalgal production in hatcheries based on external-loop airlift and swirling flow

This study deals with the scale of a new photobioreactor for continuous microalgal production\ud
in hatcheries. The combination of the state-of-art with the constraints inherent to hatcheries\ud
has turned the design into a closed, artificially illuminated and external-loop airlift\ud
configuration based on a succession of elementary modules, each one being composed of two\ud
transparent vertical interconnected columns. The liquid circulation is ensured pneumatically\ud
(air injections) with respect to a swirling motion (tangential inlets). A single module of the\ud
whole photobioreactor was built-up to investigate how parameters, such as air sparger type,\ud
gas flow rate, tangential inlet, column radius and height can influence radiative transfer,\ud
hydrodynamics, mass transfer and biological performances. The volumetric productivities\ud
were predicted by modeling radiative transfer and growth of Isochrysis affinis galbana (clone\ud
Tahiti). The hydrodynamics of the liquid phase was modeled in terms of global flow behavior\ud
(circulation and mixing times, Péclet number) and of swirling motion decay along the column\ud
(Particle Image Velocimetry). The aeration performances were determined by overall\ud
volumetric mass transfer measurements. Continuous cultures of Isochrysis affinis galbana\ud
(clone Tahiti) were run in two geometrical configurations, generating either an axial or a\ud
swirling flow. Lastly, the definitive options of design are presented as well as a 120 Liter\ud
prototype, currently implemented in a French mollusk hatchery and commercialized
Advanced monitoring of high-rate anaerobic reactors through quantitative image analysis of granular sludge and multivariate statistical analysis

Four organic loading disturbances were performed in lab-scale EGSB reactors fed with ethanol. In load disturbance 1 (LD1) and 2 (LD2), the organic loading rate (OLR) was increased between 5 and 18.5 kg COD m-3 day-1, through the influent ethanol concentration increase, and the hydraulic retention time decrease from 7.8 to 2.5 h, respectively. Load disturbances 3 (LD3) and 4 (LD4) were applied by increasing the OLR to 50 kg COD m-3 day-1 during 3 days and 16 days, respectively. The granular sludge morphology was quantified by image analysis and was related to the reactor performance, including effluent volatile suspended solids, indicator of washout events. In general, it was observed the selective washout of filamentous forms associated to granules erosion/fragmentation and to a decrease in the specific acetoclastic activity. These phenomena induced the transitory deterioration of reactor performance in LD2, LD3, and LD4, but not in LD1. Extending the exposure time in LD4 promoted acetogenesis inhibition after 144 h. The application of Principal Components Analysis determined a latent variable that encompasses a weighted sum of performance, physiological and morphological information. This new variable was highly sensitive to reactor efficiency deterioration, enclosing variations between 27% and 268% in the first hours of disturbances. The high loadings raised by image analysis parameters, especially filaments length per aggregates area (LfA), revealed that morphological changes of granular sludge, should be considered to monitor and control load disturbances in high rate anaerobic (granular) sludge bed digesters.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) -  Bolsa SFRH/BD/13317/2003,  POCI/AM/60141/2004, POCTI/BIO/37934/200
A novel aryl acylamidase from Nocardia farcinica hydrolyses polyamide

An alkali stable polyamidase was isolated from a new strain of Nocardia farcinica. The enzyme consists of four subunits with a total molecular weight of 190 kDa. The polyamidase cleaved amide and ester bonds of water insoluble model substrates like adipic acid bishexylamide and bis(benzoyloxyethyl)terephthalate and hydrolyzed different soluble amides to the corresponding acid. Treatment of polyamide 6 with this amidase led to an increased hydrophilicity based on rising height and tensiometry measurements and evidence of surface hydrolysis of polyamide 6 is shown. In addition to amidase activity, the enzyme showed activity on p-nitrophenylbutyrate. On hexanoamide the amidase exhibited a Km value of 5.5 mM compared to 0.07 mM for p-nitroacetanilide. The polyamidase belongs to the amidase signature family and is closely related to aryl acylamidases from different strains/species of Nocardia and to the 6-aminohexanoate-cyclic dimer hydrolase (EI) from Arthrobacter sp. KI72.We would like to thank Markus List for measuring of the hydrophilicity of PA fabrics. The research was financed by the Commission of the European Union (GRD2000-30110 BIOSNYTEX), the Austrian FFG, the SFG, the City of Graz, and the Province of Styria
DBT degradation enhancement by decorating Rhodococcus erythropolis IGST8 with magnetic Fe3O4 nanoparticles

Biodesulfurization (BDS) of dibenzothiophene (DBT) was carried out by Rhodococcus erythropolis IGST8 decorated with magnetic Fe3O4 nanoparticles, synthesized in-house by a chemical method, with an average size of 45-50 nm, in order to facilitate the post-reaction separation of the bacteria from the reaction mixture. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed that the magnetic nanoparticles substantially coated the surfaces of the bacteria. It was found that the decorated cells had a 56% higher DBT desulfurization activity in basic salt medium (BSM) compared to the nondecorated cells. We propose that this is due to permeabilization of the bacterial membrane, facilitating the entry and exit of reactant and product, respectively. Model experiments with black lipid membranes (BLM) demonstrated that the nanoparticles indeed enhance membrane permeability
A validated model of GAG deposition, cell distribution, and growth of tissue engineered cartilage cultured in a rotating bioreactor

This is the pre-peer reviewed version of the article which has been published in final form at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/bit.22581The purpose of this article is to review the different strategies for the delivery of plasmid DNA (pDNA)-based gene therapy. Plasmids are extrachromosomal DNA capable of being transmitted from cell to cell. They are supercoiled, circular covalently closed (ccc) strands of DNA capable of replication independently of host DNA and ranging from 5 to 400 kilo base pairs (kb) in size, depending on the size of the therapeutic gene insert
Integrated single-cell analysis shows Pichia pastoris secretes protein stochastically.

The production of heterologous proteins by secretion from cellular hosts is an important determinant for the cost of biotherapeutics. A single-cell analytical method called microengraving was used to examine the heterogeneity in secretion by the methylotrophic yeast Pichia pastoris. We show that constitutive secretion of a human Fc fragment by P. pastoris is not cell-cycle dependent, but rather fluctuates between states of high and low productivity in a stochastic manner.Merck Research Laboratorie
Marrow-Derived Stem Cell Motility in 3D Synthetic Scaffold Is Governed by Geometry Along With Adhesivity and Stiffness

Design of 3D scaffolds that can facilitate proper survival, proliferation, and differentiation of progenitor cells is a challenge for clinical applications involving large connective tissue defects. Cell migration within such scaffolds is a critical process governing tissue integration. Here, we examine effects of scaffold pore diameter, in concert with matrix stiffness and adhesivity, as independently tunable parameters that govern marrow-derived stem cell motility. We adopted an “inverse opal” processing technique to create synthetic scaffolds by crosslinking poly(ethylene glycol) at different densities (controlling matrix elastic moduli or stiffness) and small doses of a heterobifunctional monomer (controlling matrix adhesivity) around templating beads of different radii. As pore diameter was varied from 7 to 17 µm (i.e., from significantly smaller than the spherical cell diameter to approximately cell diameter), it displayed a profound effect on migration of these stem cells—including the degree to which motility was sensitive to changes in matrix stiffness and adhesivity. Surprisingly, the highest probability for substantive cell movement through pores was observed for an intermediate pore diameter, rather than the largest pore diameter, which exceeded cell diameter. The relationships between migration speed, displacement, and total path length were found to depend strongly on pore diameter. We attribute this dependence to convolution of pore diameter and void chamber diameter, yielding different geometric environments experienced by the cells within. Bioeng. 2011; 108:1181–1193Author Manuscript 2012 May 21.(National Institute of General Medical Sciences (U.S.) (NRSA Fellowship GM083472)National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (National Institute of General Medical Sciences (U.S.) Cell Migration Consortium Grant GM064346)National Science Foundation (U.S.) (CAREER CBET-0644846
Self-assembled dextrin nanogel as protein carrier : controlled release and biological activity of IL-10

Interleukin-10 (IL-10) is an anti-inflammatory cytokine, which active form is a non-covalent homodimer. Given the potential of IL-10 for application in various medical conditions, it is essential to develop systems for its effective delivery. In previous work, it has been shown that a dextrin nanogel effectively incorporated and
stabilized rIL10, enabling its release over time. In this work, the delivery system based on dextrin nanogels was further analyzed. The biocompatibility of the nanogel was comprehensively analyzed, through cytotoxicity (lactate dehydrogenase release, MTS,
Live and Dead) and genotoxicity (comet) assays. The release profile of rIL-10 and its biological activity were evaluated in vivo, using C57BL/6 mice. Although able to maintain a stable concentration of IL-10 for at least 4 hours in mice serum, the amount of protein released was rather low. Despite this, the amount of rIL-10 released from the complex was biologically active inhibiting TNF-α production, in vivo, by LPSchallenged mice.
In spite of the significant stabilization achieved using the nanogel, rIL-10 still denatures rather quickly. An additional effort is thus necessary to develop an effective delivery
system for this cytokine, able to release active protein over longer periods of time. Nevertheless, the good biocompatibility, the protein stabilization effect and the ability to perform as a carrier with controlled release suggest that self-assembled dextrin nanogels
may be useful protein delivery systems.Contract grant sponsor: Fundacao para a Ciencia e Tecnologia (FCT), PortugalContract grant number: SFRH/BD/27359/2006Contract grant sponsor: FCTContract grant number: PTDC/BIO/67160/2006; SUDOE-FEDERIMMUNONETSOE1/P1/E01
Strategies to Suppress Hydrogen-Consuming Microorganisms Affect Macro and Micro Scale Structure and Microbiology of Granular Sludge

Treatment of anaerobic granules with heat and
two chemical treatments, contacting with 2-bromoethanesulfonate
(BES) and with BESþChloroform, were applied
to suppress hydrogen-consuming microorganisms. Three
mesophilic expanded granular sludge bed (EGSB) reactors—
RHeat, RBES, and RBESþChlo—were inoculated with
the treated sludges and fed with synthetic sugar-based
wastewater (5 gCOD L 1, HRT 20–12 h). Morphological
integrity of granules and bacterial communities were
assessed by quantitative image analysis and 16S rRNA gene
based techniques, respectively. Hydrogen production
in RHeat was under 300mLH2 L 1 day 1, with a transient
peak of 1,000 mLH2 L 1 day 1 after decreasing HRT.
In RBESþChlo hydrogen production rate did not exceed
300mLH2 L 1 day 1 and there was granule fragmentation,
release of free filaments from aggregates, and decrease of
granule density. In RBES, there was an initial period with
unstable hydrogen production, but a pulse of BES triggered
its production rate to 700 200mLH2 L 1 day 1. This
strategy did not affect granules structure significantly. Bacteria
branching within Clostridiaceae and Ruminococcaceae
were present in this sludge. This work demonstrates that,
methods applied to suppress H2-consuming microorganisms
can cause changes in the macro- and microstructure of
granular sludge, which can be incompatible with the operation
of high-rate reactors.European Community fund FEDER
Contract grant number: FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-007087; PTDC/BIO/69745/2006; SFRH/
BD/29823/2006; SFRH/BD/48965/2008Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT
Saturation of transgene protein synthesis from mRNA in cells producing a large number of transgene mRNA.

Experimental results have suggested that transgene expression can be saturated when large amounts of plasmid vectors are delivered into cells. To investigate this saturation kinetic behavior, cells were transfected with monitoring and competing plasmids using cationic liposomes. Even although an identical amount of a monitoring plasmid expressing firefly luciferase (FL) was used for transfection, transgene expression from the plasmid was greatly affected by the level of transgene expression from competing plasmids expressing renilla luciferase (RL). Similar results were obtained by exchanging the monitoring and competing plasmids. The competing plasmid-dependent reduction in transgene expression from the monitoring plasmid was also observed in mouse liver after hydrodynamic injection of plasmids. On the other hand, the mRNA and protein expression level of glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH), an endogenous gene, in the liver hardly changed even when transgene expression process is saturated. The expression of FL from a monitoring plasmid was significantly restored by siRNA-mediated degradation of RL mRNA that was expressed from a competing plasmid. These results suggest that the efficiency of protein synthesis from plasmid vectors is reduced when a large amount of mRNA is transcribed with no significant changes in endogenous gene expression